Cirque Du Freak: Vampires And Their Assistants
by Captain Zex
Summary: CONTINUED! A story between a female Darran and Larten Crepsley. Using the books as a guideline, but love the movie. Contains Sex and Character death. Darrien/Crepsley  Darrien is Darren  Rated M to be safe.
1. Introductions

**(A/N)**

**This is a short story based on the Darren Shan saga, but with my own freakish twist on it… I wanted a 'love story', but I didn't particularly want to write a male on male thing sooooo I looked around and apparently it is acceptable to suddenly turn Darren into a girl… Problem solved!**

**Please, please, please, no flames. I am only up to the eleventh book (one book every two days, almost done!), but I'm only using the first few to create this twisted piece of writing. This is a Darrien (Darren) / Larten Crepsley and I hope you like it!**

**Darrien = Dar-ree-en**

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It had been a couple of years since I had been blooded and turned into a half-vampire. My mentor, Larten Crepsley -the vampire who blooded me- and I were staying with a travelling freak show called the Cirque Du Freak. I used to have a normal life, one with friends and family who love me, but my friend Steve convinced me to go to the Cirque Du Freak and that's when all hell broke loose. I fell in love with Mr Crepsley's spider, Madam Octa; I stole her and tried to train her as my pet, but when I went to show Steve some tricks, my sister burst into the room and freaked Madam Octa out and she bit Steve.

I traded my normal life for one as a half-vampire to save Steve's life; I became Crepsley's assistant and have been learning about the vampire way of life under his careful watch for two and a half years. Crepsley asked if I wanted to help him during some of his performances at the Cirque Du Freak, but I hated Madam Octa too much to even go near her. Sometimes I just passed him his flute on stage or helped with a couple of magic tricks.

To pass the day I just walk around the Cirque helping the performers, doing random jobs here and there with my new friend, Evra Von, a snake-boy who I share a tent with. Being a half-vampire comes in handy, I could still go out in the day time and I had superhuman strength, hearing and speed, but I couldn't do things like heal people with my spit or flit –a super fast way of moving that vampires could travel at- like Mr Crepsley could. I had super strong nails and teeth, but I still hated being a creature that had to drink blood to live; an act which I was trying not to do for as much as possible. Whatever part of me that still was human felt the need to cling to the hope that this could all be reversed and I could go back to normal. Not something that was likely to happen. I have drunk a little bit of human blood, but only from vials that Mr Crepsley keeps in case of a shortage.

Today was a normal day, me and Evra were collecting dead animals for the Little People to eat; Little People were small cloaked figures that often travelled with the Cirque Du Freak.

"So Darrien, what are you doing after tonight's show?" Evra asked, "I mean does Crepsley have you doing chores or are you performing?"

I picked up a dead rabbit and put it into the bag of road kill I was carrying.

"I don't think I am performing tonight, I'm not even sure if Crepsley is; we have do a bit of training, you know, fight tactics and stuff, but once that's over I'm free to sleep." I replied thinking of how much sleep I had missed out on over the last few months even thought I constantly felt drained.

"Sounds super exciting." Evra mocked sarcastically and flung a dead cat at me.

I dodged it easily, but it was a close one, my reflexes weren't as fast as they should be since I wasn't drink fresh blood. Once our bags were full we headed back to the camp grounds to feed the Little People. It was lunch time and my stomach was growling furiously, normal food could sustain me along with animal blood, but I knew that if I didn't drink human blood then I wouldn't reach my full potential and even die.

After a couple of sausages the rest of the day was spent helping Rhamus Twobellies with his act; he could eat a large amount of stuff in a small amount of time and could cough it all back up again. Once night fell I was to report to Larten Crepsley's tent as soon as he woke up, or else. As the sun was setting I wandered over to Crepsley's tent only to find that he was already awake.

"Mr Crepsley, is everything okay?" I was careful not to let too much sun in, even though vampires could stand a little bit of sun, they preferred to stay away from it.

"I am fine Darrien; I have had trouble sleeping these past few nights." Larten rubbed his eyes, "But enough of me, tonight is about you."

He turned and looked at me for a long time making me feel overly nervous, I didn't know if I was supposed to say something or not so I remain silent. Crepsley circled me a couple of times making indecisive grunts and tugging at my clothes.

"These are no good; we must find you some new clothes." Crepsley was now standing in front of me scratching the long scar on the left side of his face.

"I was wondering when I could change out of these, they make me look like a boy." I only had the clothes I was buried in when I faked my death and a pair of jeans and a t-shirt Evra gave me, but they were too big.

Without any arguments I followed Mr Crepsley out of the tent, we walked away from the camp grounds before he stopped and spoke.

"Hop on my back, we are going to flit to the nearest town."

I obeyed him and for a moment I thought Larten's breath hitched, but I decided that I was imagining things. Larten began to run, once we hit flitting speed we became a blur and within moments we were standing in a dark ally next to a busy street. I got off of Mr Crepsley's back and brushed the dirt from my clothes although it didn't make much difference.

"Come on, I do not wish to stay here any longer than we have to." Larten began to walk briskly into the crowed streets, cloak billowing behind him.

"It was your idea; I could have come here by myself tomorrow." I trailed behind him trying to keep up, but he kept a quick pace and I sometimes had to jog.

We visited several stores, but I found nothing that interested me; eventually Mr Crepsley became annoyed and said that I'd better pick some clothes soon or I wouldn't get any. That was all the convincing I needed, I quickly raced ahead of him and picked out several outfits, by the time Crepsley caught up I was standing patiently by the counter. He rifled through the clothes and grunted.

"What? What's wrong with these?" I asked, I didn't think what I had picked out was horrible; in fact I quite liked them.

"Will you not need undergarments and… lady products?" I could see Mr Crepsley was uncomfortable, hell, so was I.

"I thought maybe I could get them myself, when you're not here." I hung my head a little, trying not to make eye contact.

"We do not have the time, please go and fetch the necessary items and be quick." Mr Crepsley held a tone in his voice that made me jump and move a bit faster.

The lady behind the counter looked as uneasy as I felt, but within a few minutes I was back with another armful of stuff including pyjamas and more clothes. I dumped everything onto the counter and I had to suppress a giggle as Mr Crepsley tried to avert his eyes from the newly accumulated items. Once everything was paid for we collected the bags and made our way to a deserted alleyway, but there was a question that was itching in the back of my throat since we left the store.

"Mr Crepsley?"

He turned and looked at me once we were out of sight, "What is it Darrien?"

"Since we outside and everything, is it possible for me to have a shower and get changed?" I really didn't think he'd go for it, Mr Crepsley already seemed pressed for time, but when he sighed and told me to wait here, I knew I had won.

A few minutes passed and I stood shivering in the night air; he returned and picked up his share of the bags.

"We must hurry, the man that owns the house will only be knocked out for another twenty minutes." Mr Crepsley started to walk at his usual fast pace.

The house we arrived at was quite close to the alleyway and I noticed that the second story window was open; that must have been the way Mr Crepsley got inside. We climbed through the window and I took a bag and hurried to the bathroom. On my way I came across an unconscious body on the floor; vampires could emit a gas that can knock humans out for a short amount of time.

I showered quickly, savouring the hot water, the Cirque had showers, but they only had cold water. After fifteen minutes I stepped out on the bathroom in a pair of black leather pants, a black corset and a pair of black boots. Not all my clothes were like this, but I thought I go for the Hollywood modern vampire look, just as a joke. Mr Crepsley didn't laugh; instead his eyes seemed to be glued to me.

"Do you get it? I'm a vampire, you know like the one from the movie we watched last week?" I smiled, but he still didn't move.

It was only when the man on the floor started to stir did Larten even realise he was staring; he quickly picked up the bags and motioned for me to follow him. We climbed down the building and Mr Crepsley started to run and soon we were flitting towards the Cirque Du Freak. It was only when we stopped did I realise that Mr Crepsley hadn't flitted very close to the Cirque, which meant we had to walk a fair way and within ten minutes I was already complaining.

"Why didn't we flit all the way back to camp, my feet are killing me?" I didn't get a response, "Is this some kind of stupid training thing?"

Larten stopped and sighed heavily, I knew I was annoying him, but it was fun to see how much I could get away with. Suddenly, I thought I'd try and push further then I ever had, I was probably going to have to do twice as many chores to make up for it, but I didn't care.

"Oh no, you're not going to are you?" I asked.

Mr Crepsley turned around confused, "Not going to what? What am I not going to do?"

"In all the badly done horror movies, the guy who seems nice turns out to be the killer and he rapes and murders the young girl." I was putting all my drama classes to use. "You're going to rape and kill me, aren't you?"

I could see by Mr Crepsley's face he was completely dumbfounded and for once he didn't have a smartass remark to come back with. Over the past few years I had grown quite close to my mentor and even though as a half-vampire I only aged one year for every five that passed, I had filled out a lot. Even though in two months I would technically be eighteen I still looked fifteen and I had already decided that the older man would never like me, but it was still fun to mess with him.

"I bet you made me walk so that I was tired and defenceless." I stepped closer hoping to get a response soon because the silent staring was kinda weird.

I took one final step until our noses were almost touching; even in the boots I was shorter than him. Mr Crepsley's breathing was shallow, but he was able to keep a straight face and then I had a sudden thought; what if he did like me or at least needed a release? Had I just stumbled into something I might not be able to get out of? Not wanting to invoke unnecessary trouble I started to back away only to find Mr Crepsley's hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving further back.

His eyes shone in the pale light of the moon, not being a full moon, the light was scarce and all the fine detail in his face was lost to darkness, but there was still something about those eyes. We stood like that for a long time, unmoving and completely consumed by each other gaze. There was a wetness in my pants and a tightening in my stomach that needed satisfaction; an itch that needed to be scratched. It didn't take a vampire's superhuman vision to see that Larten had similar feelings and it was taking all my willpower not to even glance down at him.

"We must get back to the Cirque," Crepsley suddenly turned and started walking again, "Hurry up."

I was in shock, for a moment, a split second, I thought we were sharing a moment, but apparently I was just distracting him for his tight schedule. My heart that was once beating in my throat now sunk down to the pit of my stomach; it was heavy and covered in guilt and regret. We travelled in silence until we got back to the camp grounds, where suddenly, as I trailed behind Me Crepsley in my new clothes, I felt like a cheap hooker or even some kind of lap dog waiting to be to be told what to do. It didn't help that people were staring.

From out of nowhere I was being pulled into Mr Crepsley's tent and pushed up against his coffin; I had dropped my bags as I was forced to bend back. The weight on top of me wasn't threatening, more intimidating and I could feel Larten's breath next to my ear as he spoke in a deep voice.

"The people in movies have nothing on me and it will not be rape because by the end of it you will be begging me for more." I had never heard Mr Crepsley speak in that voice and I had never imagined words like that coming from his lips.

I didn't know whether to be scared or horny, but I knew which one was the strongest feeling and I couldn't help but let a little moan escape. Crepsley ground his hips against mine and I could feel his erection pulsating through the material of his pants, begging to be freed. Suddenly the weight was gone and my body felt cold without his touch, I couldn't move and I wasn't sure if I wanted to.

"Take off your clothes," The instruction was clear, direct and didn't hold any cryptic messages, but I could help but hesitate to follow them.

"Excuse me?" I had heard him perfectly, but it still confused me.

"Tonight's lesson is respect and the ability to follow orders no matter what they may be," Mr Crepsley scratched his scar and continued; "And I do believe I have given you an order." He paced as he spoke but suddenly stopped in front of me when I hadn't moved.

"Is there a problem with the instruction I have given you?" He asked almost sincerely, but there was the hint of something else behind his words.

I shook my head, too afraid to speak; I had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen, but I knew there was only one way of finding out. Although my movements were shaky, I managed to rid myself of my clothes and stood in the middle of Mr Crepsley's tent very much naked. I tried to cover myself only to have my hands slapped away from my body.

"I did not tell you to cover up," Larten's voice was still deep and gravely with lust, "Now open my coffin."

I turned around, not hesitating this time and opened the lid to the coffin as I did I had a look inside; it was made of beautiful red silk and it looked incredibly comfortable. When I finally turned back around I found that my mentor had stripped himself of most of his clothes. My eyes bulged from their sockets, even when I felt Mr Crepsley pushing into me I did not expect something of that size to be connected to him. I knew exactly what was going to happen now, but I only feared one thing; with me being a virgin, would he be gentle or would he let the vampire take control.

Mr Crepsley, sensing my discomfort, ran his hand along my jaw and gently cupped my face. His lips slowly pushed into mine and all my previous worries slipped away. I let him increase the passion between us as his hands ran over my breasts and backside, massaging the skin beneath his fingertips. The kisses moved down until he took my nipple into his mouth and gently sucked; rolling his tongue over the hardening flesh. Before my senses could tell me what was happening I was being placed into the coffin next to me, followed closely by Mr Crepsley.

I was placed on my back with the older vampire between my legs; I raised them instinctively to allow him better access and wrapped them around his waist. My breathing was getting heavier and I could feel my pulse all over my body. I watched as Mr Crepsley leaned forward and placed another kiss on my lips, with one quick thrust he was inside; my cries of pain muffled by the vampire's tongue.

We didn't move, Larten allowed me to become accustom to him and although I hadn't thought deeply about it given my current situation; Larten Crepsley was the man to take my virginity. I believe he some how knew this because he was being overly gentle; he was yet to move an inch. Taking matters into my own hands I bucked upwards a couple of times to get the message across and after a questioning look and a smile in return Mr Crepsley took over for the rest of the night.

He moved slowly, rolling his hips against mine and placing kisses along my collarbone. I felt him latch onto the junction between my neck and my shoulder, careful not to break the skin the vampire began to lightly suck on my skin. I draped my arms around Larten's neck and ran my fingers through his fiery red hair, but I still felt slightly useless. Without thinking of the consequences I slowly drug my nails up his back, the sharpness of them only drawing small droplets of blood; Crepsley moaned into my neck as I repeated the action a couple of times.

Mr Crepsley thrust particularly hard and caused me to loose my breath and whisper him name, he smiled and did it again only to receive the same reaction and suddenly he picked up the pace. His movements were strong with the sole purpose of hitting that spot that made my vision blur and his name escape my lips; I couldn't help but chant it because it seemed to bring him such joy to hear it spoken it that way. My stomach had slowly been tightening when suddenly Crepsley brought his hand down and started to massage my nub, sending all of the nerve endings into a frenzy. Suddenly the knot was released and I screamed my pleasure, but it didn't stop, I could still feel him thrusting above me.

This action was repeated to many times to count and only when Larten saw my eyes glaze over and my limbs fighting to keep up did he finally release his seed; moaning my name. The nights freak show had since started and finished a long time ago and I had a feeling it had been about six hour since we had started. Mr Crepsley was careful not to collapse on top of me, his coffin was larger than mine and after much rolling around we got comfortable and the lid was closed. Although my body ached from all the tensing my muscles had done, I didn't fall asleep straight away.

"Mr Crepsley?"

"After that I do believe you may call me Larten." The vampire spoke wearily.

"Is this a once off thing?" I asked, still fighting to keep my eyelids open.

"We will discuss it later, but for now you must rest." And with that we fell asleep in the silk lined coffin, warm in each others embrace.

It was midafternoon before I woke, careful not to let to much sun in, I opened the coffin and practically jumped out while still trying to avoid waking the sleeping vampire. I glanced around the room, still feeling the throbbing between my thighs, searching for anything to cover myself while I when to get something to eat. My eyes fell upon a neatly folded cloak, blood red in colour at the far end of the tent. Grabbing my carelessly discarded pants and the cloak, I quickly got dressed and made my way out into the camp grounds to get what I suspected was lunch. No matter where I went there were eyes that followed me and for a while I supposed it was because I was wearing Mr Crepsley's cloak, but it was when Evra walked up to me did I release why they were really staring.

"Hey Evra, how was the show?" I asked, but he just smiled and slowly shook his head.

"I noticed you didn't come back to the tent last night." He ignored my question.

"Yeah, I stayed in Mr Crepsley's tent last night, you know, chores." I tried to stay cool, but Evra's smirk wasn't helping.

"From what I heard last night, he must have worked you pretty hard to have you screaming like that." The snake-boy was trying his hardest not to laugh, but snickers were coming through.

"You heard us?" I was mortified and completely embarrassed; Evra's tent was right next to Larten's and we must have kept him awake the whole night.

"Not just me Darrien, I reckon the whole Cirque heard you." By now Evra was laughing hysterically.

I glanced around the camp and as my gaze fell upon people they turned away, my inside were tightening again, but for a different reason. When I looked up I saw Mr Tall –the owner of the Cirque Du Freak- walking closer to me; I feared the absolute worst. To my surprise he just smiled and continued walking, I let out the breath I was holding when suddenly a voice was speaking to me; it was Mr Tall and he was almost out of earshot so I had to strain to hear what he had to say.

"Oh and Darrien, I think it's best you ask Larten to move you're tent a bit further away next time."

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**(A/N)**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it and I really look forward to any comments you might have. Thank you!**


	2. Cats in Heat

**(A/N)**

**I have decided to continue this story, unfortunately I don't believe that it will be a long one. Maybe a small conflict then a cute happy ending or maybe a big conflict ending in death and tragedy. I don't know...**

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The next couple of days went by without another word spoken on the subject of mine and Mr Crepsley's night of passion, and to the best of my knowledge it was the last. Although, Evra still gave me funny looks here and there, I just figured he was trying to forget or even get his head around what had happened. Even Mr Crepsley hadn't said a word of our little night together, in fact it was quite the opposite; he acted completely normal. It seemed that the only person struggling to make heads or tail of what had happened was me.

I sat back under the shade of a tall tree, bringing my diary up to speed with recent events; today was my day off so to speak. The days chores were finished; although I knew a new set of them would begin when the sun went down, I still tried to savour the freedom while it lasted. I was completely immersed in my writing that I barely noticed the hour tick by. Soon my eyelids were fighting to stay open and I found myself nodding off, it was quite relaxing not having to do anything.

Sleep was just about to take over when I heard a small noise break the silence around me; I strained to hear any further noise, keeping my eyes shut to fool the attacker. I was on the outskirts of the Cirque Du Freaks boundaries, but in the back of my mind I knew that the person sneaking up on me wasn't doing so to hurt me. There was another sound, closer and clearer than the last; the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone's foot. The footsteps got closer until the supposed attacker was standing right in front of me; a gust of wind blew the persons scent towards me and I knew straight away who it was. Keeping my eyes shut I decided to startle a certain snake-boy.

"Hey Evra." Even though I couldn't see him, I knew Evra had jumped a little.

"That's creepy; you're as bad as Crepsley." He smiled and I sat up.

"No one's as bad as Crepsley, have you seen him do that staring thing?" We both laughed, as we tried to imitate the vampire's intense glare.

Evra didn't sit down like I expected him to; instead he stood there suddenly looking very worried. He fell silent and started to look around anxiously as if he expected someone to suddenly appear.

"What's up Evra is everything okay?" I stood up and put a hand on the snake-boys shoulder.

"My snake's gone missing." He sighed and let his head hang a bit, "I think someone's taken her."

He looked very upset, Evra's snake meant the world to him and it hurt me to see him looking so down.

"What makes you say someone has taken her, couldn't she have just gone to find somewhere sunny? It is the day for it." It was true, Evra's snake was known for going to find sunny spots on days like today.

"I've checked all the places she would like to go, but she's not there and I've asked around, but no one's seen her." I could tell that Evra was truly worried about his friend.

"What if I help you look for her?" Evra's face lit up as he nodded quickly and we began walking back to the Cirque.

We searched for the better part of two hours with no success; we even questioned Rhamus Twobellies about what he had eaten for lunch, but found nothing. It looked as if like Evra's snake had disappeared into thin air, which seemed kind of hard given her enormous size, but I didn't want to give up. We asked everyone we could find if it was okay to search their tents or caravans; everyone said it was fine, nobody wanted to go to sleep to find they had an unwanted sleepover buddy. Finally, after searching the last performer's tent we decided it was time for a rest and sat down for a snack.

Lunch was eaten in silence; I didn't know what to say to comfort Evra. What did you say to someone who had lost their snake? A couple of performers who walked by checked on our progress with the search, but all got the same answer. I looked over at Evra and I could see the cogs in his head turning as he thought; I nudged him and signalled him to share what he was thinking.

"You know there is one tent we haven't looked in yet." His eyes twinkled and I knew exactly what he was getting at.

"I am not searching Mr Crepsley's tent for your snake, if you want her so bad, you look in there." I stood and lightly stomped my foot and pointed my finger in the general direction of the vampires tent to add emphasis.

"But Darrien, you know he scares me." Evra whined, "Please can you do this for me?"

Evra Von got on his knees and physically begged for me to look in Crepsley's tent for his snake; he even pulled the puppy dog pout which made me laugh.

"Okay, fine. I'll look in Crepsley's tent for your overweight snake." I sighed and almost lost balance when the snake-boy hugged me around my legs.

Reluctantly I made my way over to Larten's tent; it had been moved like Mr Tall suggested it should be, but I couldn't remember mentioning anything about the proposition to Mr Crepsley. I edged closer to the tent, my hear pounding in my chest; my palms were sweaty as I snuck inside the vampire's lair. The second I was inside I could see a dark shadow on top of Crepsley's coffin and as I a bit got closer I realised it was Evra's snake. There was sun pouring into the tent through a tear in its roof and the UV rays were pelting down on to the vampire's coffin. I noted that Mr Crepsley should probably move his sleeping arrangements around a bit before he gets a serious sun burn. I quickly darted over to the snake and started to pick her up when a slightly muffled voice startled me.

"I would prefer it if I was left alone to sleep Darrien," Mr Crepsley's voice made my eyes bulge from their sockets, "So would you be so kind as to remove the snake and return here when the sun has set?"

"Yes Sir, sorry Sir." I picked up Evra's snake and cursed both the snake and her cowardly owner for getting me into trouble.

"Language Darrien, I will not tolerate such foul mouthed comments, especially from a lady." He sounded like my mum, "You will be doing defence tactics tonight so I expect you to be in top form."

"Yes Mr Crepsley." I groaned as I slugged out of the tent.

Waiting for me was an anxious Evra whose face lit up when he saw me carrying his beloved snake, but suddenly dropped when he caught a glimpse of my expression.

"Everything okay?" He asked as we walked back to our own tent.

"Crepsley's got me doing defence tactic tonight and because I interrupted his sleep, I just know he's going to work me like a dog as punishment." I slumped onto my bed and attempted get a couple of hours sleep before my nights training began.

As the sun begun to set I was shook awake by Evra who was telling me that I had better not be late or Crepsley would have my head. I raced out of the tent, still trying to pull the t-shirt over my head as I ran across the camp grounds to Mr Crepsley's tents new spot and made it through the door just as the lid to his coffin opened. I watched as Larten yawned and carefully climbed out of his box; no matter how hard I had tried I could never do it as smoothly as he could, I always end up stumbling.

"Would you like a drink?" I asked Mr Crepsley as I made my way to his personal fridge.

"I think I might go out for dinner tonight, would you like to accompany me Darrien?" Mr Crepsley was always trying to get me to feed off of humans.

"I'll come with you, but I'm not drinking from anyone." We'd had this conversation more times than I could keep track of, but I knew I would only last so long until it came down to do or die.

"We shall see." Mr Crepsley turned and began to walk out of his tent and through the Cirque; I had learnt from experience that it was best to follow him.

We travelled until we were out of the way of the other performers and on the outer skirts of the Cirque Du Freak when I was told to hope on Crepsley's back so that we could flit. Once we arrived in the same alley as a few nights ago, I got off of his back and looked around. It was a Sunday evening and there was a generous amount of people walking about, most were huddled in groups, but there were a select few who chose to journey alone. I watched as Mr Crepsley studied the area and its inhabitants; his hawk-like eyes picking out the perfect victim or as he liked to put it; the perfect 'donor'.

I almost missed the moment when Larten had chosen to pounce, I blinked and he was gone; it took me a while to realise that he had flitted across the street into the opposite alley to pray of a young man. Without drawing to much attention to my self I casually crossed the road and stepped into the alley-way. As I drew closer to the end of the narrow passage I found Mr Crepsley straddling a knocked out male in his mid twenties; he was bent down and drinking from the mans shoulder.

Suddenly Mr Crepsley looked up and beckoned me over to him; I stepped up next to him and looked down. Mr Crepsley stood and pulled me in front of him so that I was standing over the man with the vampire looming behind me. Larten was holding my shoulders as he leaned into my neck and spoke.

"I have been quite lenient with this little refusal to do certain things, but it ends now." Mr Crepsley held a calm tone, "Now either you drink from this man or I start breaking bones until you do."

I turned my head around and looked up at Mr Crepsley and smiled, "Yeah right, like you'd hurt me for somethi…" I was unable to finish my sentence when there was a snapping noise and a white hot pain in my left pinkie finger.

I glanced down to see it poking out at a funny angle, "You broke my finger!" I yelled as my hand throbbed, "Just for that you can forget it."

I tried to leave, but he was too strong and I was held in place, I tried to fight, but it was no use.

"Drink." Crepsley commanded, but I was angry with him and refused; I should have just agreed.

There was another snapping sound and my ring finger was now bent backwards, I let out a yelp of pain and cradled my hand to my chest as tears ran down my cheeks. I fell to my knees and leaned into the man's shoulder; it was pointless and painful if I continued to resist. I felt Mr Crepsley kneel behind me to keep me from escaping. My breathing was deep as I prepared myself; leaning closer I could smell the man's blood as it trickled down his skin.

Mr Crepsley's hands slid down my shoulder to my hips and he gently pushed my forward; I didn't resist this time and I let my mouth come in contact with the small cut on the man's shoulder. As I drank I could feel my senses heightening and my body being refreshed; it was like being lost in a desert for weeks and suddenly being handed a bottle of water. I was sure I would have gotten carried away if it wasn't for Mr Crepsley pulling me back; he pulled me to my feet and spun me around and grabbed my left hand. I flinched as his hand touched my broken fingers; he gave me a quick sympathetic look before snapping them back into place.

"We may begin you training once we get back to the Cirque." Mr Crepsley licked his finger and ran it over the small cut on the man, it healed before my eyes and I waited for him to tell me to get on his back to flit back.

Once we returned I was lead back into Mr Crepsley's tent which I found strange, we usually trained in a nearby grassed area outside the Cirque. When I went to ask him why we were in his tent I realised he was nowhere to be seen although I could sense him hiding in the shadows. I looked around frantically, but still I couldn't find him.

"Mr Crepsley? Where are you?" I spun around at the tiniest of sounds only to find him not standing there.

I went to ask where he was again only to have a searing pain on my cheek; I clutched the hot skin on my face where I had been slapped.

"What the hell?" I yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you? First you break my fingers and now you slap me, what has gotten into you?"

Suddenly there was a voice behind me and I spun around to see Mr Crepsley standing there, "Language Darrien. This is your defence training, I will try and hit you while you will try and defend yourself." With this I received a whack to my arm and he was gone again.

"This is stupid, how am I supposed to stop a vampire from hitting me?" Suddenly I was on the floor with Larten pinning me to the ground.

"You anticipate his next move and try to counteract it." I blinked and he disappeared.

I stumbled to my feet, all too aware on the pain in my legs and closed my eyes to concentrate on my hearing. There was a gust of wind to my right, but by the time I when to act on it I was on the floor again with an aching in my ribs. There was a feeling of anger and frustration building inside me, but I remained calm; staying calm and in control of your feelings was crucial. I clambered to my feet again, but remained hunched over and groaning hoping to lull Larten into a false sense of security.

As I swayed on the spot I felt his presence behind me, I waited until he was about to strike then ducked out of the way and fell to the floor swinging my leg. It connected with his and sent him falling onto his back; I quickly climbed on top of him to pin him down. I sat there smiling at my accomplishment for a while until I realised that something was off; Mr Crepsley was smiling too.

"Well done Darrien, you have me right where you want me; the only question is what are you going to do now?" Mr Crepsley made no attempt to escape my grip, not that it would be very difficult for him.

My smile had faded as I thought about my next move; how would I finish him off? It didn't take me long to understand what Crepsley had meant; as he moved a bit in what I thought was getting comfortable I noticed something hard pushing into my arse. Did Mr Crepsley, my mentor and elder vampire have an erection while I am seated on his lap? One roll of the hips told me pretty quick what the answer was, but I still had questions of my own that needed answering.

"I thought you said it was a once off thing?" I asked, but didn't move.

"I said we would talk about it later, if you would prefer we stopped then I will respect your decision." Crepsley sat up with me still in his lap, "But if you decide to continue, I can make things very pleasurable for you." His voice was low and gravely like it was two nights ago.

I could feel my underwear becoming moist with my arousal, my eyes had already started glazing over with lust and I was unconsciously rolling my hips against Crepsley's hardened member. The vampire beneath me hadn't made any attempt to stop me; instead he placed his hands on my thighs and gently massaged the skin. The only thing I could think was how uncharacteristic all this was of Mr Crepsley; he seemed to enjoy our night together, but it wasn't like him to show so much emotion. It was strange how much he was smiling lately among other things that he didn't usually do such as his hands now taking my t-shirt off; the same one I had so much trouble getting on.

Deciding to take a risk, I started unbuttoning Larten's coat and opening it to reveal the deep red button up shirt underneath; it was like opening a present at Christmas. His breathing was ragged as his hands roamed across my body, underneath his fingertips goosebumps appeared. After a while I found that my clothes were tighter than they were when we started, or at least they felt that way; I had to stand to remove my jeans and while I was standing Mr Crepsley discarded his own pants. I took a second to drink in his body; pale with many scars, muscular from flitting all the time, his fiery red hair was a mess and stuck to his face with sweat and as I lowered myself back over him I felt his erection enter my small frame.

In the back of my mind I wandered why such an alluring man would even be interested in me; I was skinny, yes, but that meant that I had small breasts and my ribs poked out a bit. I had medium length dark brown hair which I was sure looked much like Mr Crepsley's and was stuck to my face with sweat. There was a moment where my surroundings became a blur and I was suddenly on my back with Larten above me, he started to thrust harder when he abruptly stopped. He looked down at me confused then his face turned to shock and he was gone, leaving me naked on my back.

For a long time I just lay there unmoving, I'm sure I was supposed to feel embarrassed or confused, but all I could feel was emptiness. In those moments while I lay naked on the floor I remembered the times when things weren't so complicated, back when I was human and things were simple. Even as a half-vampire, things weren't that bad, I mean they took getting used to, but in the last week my world has been turned upside down and put in hard mode. I couldn't understand why Mr Crepsley was acting the way he was and I couldn't for the world of me work out why I was acting the same and my theories made even less sense.

Half an hour ticked by and I was yet to make an effort to get up or get dressed, I just remained on the floor with my arms by my sides and my knees still bent up a little. I was pretty sure I hadn't blinked in a while and my breathing had slowed right down to an almost nonexistent rate. I was so caught up in memories that I didn't notice Mr Crepsley re-enter the tent; he was dressed now and was looking quite upset. I barely registered that he had pulled me up and was trying to put my clothes back on; I didn't even flinch when he accidently cut my leg while pulling my jeans up.

When I was dressed Mr Crepsley spoke in a sad voice, "I am sorry for my actions Darrien." He hung his head, but brought his eyes back up to mine to talk. "If a vampire has not had sexual relations with someone in a long time their body goes on a frenzy, like a cat in heat. They will send out toxins that will make them seem more attractive to the people who are close to them, as my assistant you would have been given the largest dose. This does not excuse the way I have behaved, as a full vampire I should have separated myself from you until things settled down, but I could not bare to do it."

My focus had returned and I was listening intently to what my mentor was saying.

"Although I knew what would happen if I continued, I could not seem to bring myself to do it; I needed to feel you Darrien, I needed to know if you felt the same as I have since I blooded you." I could see him struggling to tell me.

"What do you mean?" I spoke softly and my voice sounded strange from not talking.

"When you came to me and begged me to save your friend I could not turn you down, you looked so lost and helpless, but when you said that you would do anything I just knew I could save you as well. You may not think it now, but I have given you something that most people would, and excuse the pun, die for."

"The only thing you've done for me in chronological order is kill me, make me fake my own death so that you could take me away from the people who love me, make me work like a dog so that your life is easier and now have sex with me and say that it was all because you were in heat and it meant nothing. Do you know how that makes me feel?" I was angry, but I couldn't help but keep my voice quiet.

"It did not mean nothing." Mr Crepsley turned away from me.

"What?" I was confused.

"When we had sex it did not mean nothing, it meant everything." He turned back to face me and I watched a single tear escape down his cheek. "I have watched you grow, I have watched you face things that most people could not imagine, I feel for you and for that reason it meant everything."

I couldn't vocalise my thoughts, had Mr Crepsley just admitted he liked me? I furrowed my brow and looked for anything that might suggest that he was lying, but I didn't see anything. My stomach did a flip as his hand rested on mine; I looked up at him and smiled.

"I would like to try this again now that I am not longer 'in heat'." Larten stood and gave a small bow before hold out his hand, "Darrien, would you like to be my partner?"

I almost laughed at how formal he was; at least he was back to normal. "I would love to." I took his hand and got to my feet.

Crepsley wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer, he stooped his head down and placed a soft kiss on my lips; I felt butterflies fluttering around my stomach. Was this what love felt like? If only I knew of things to come I wouldn't be getting so comfortable with the people around me.

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**(A/N)**

**So I hope this had given you the fix you need and I promise that this will be updated as soon as I've finished ALL my school work... But it will be updated... I hope. Please review because they were the things that made me continue this story. Thank you!**


	3. Don't Agree

**(A/N)**

**I was supposed to put a comment here that explained something, but when I rested my hands on the keyboard it completely escaped my mind... Couldn't have been to important *shrugs* Oh well, I hope you enjoy. R&R!**

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We tried to keep our relationship a secret and it was fine for about two weeks until Evra walked in on us and we had to explain everything. Shortly after we had finished telling him, Evra told everyone else and there was a small celebration; it seemed the Cirque would party over the smallest things. Once our status was out in public, Crepsley and I could breathe a bit easier; it was nice to be able to do normal things like hold hands and kiss each other goodnight without weird stares or not doing it at all.

Soon enough a month had passed, we had changed camp sites three times; the second time we were only there a few days before the police were called and we had the leave. It was always fun to change camp, there was a hint of excitement and anticipation to see what the next one would look like, no one but Mr Tall knew where we were going and that's what made it amusing. We always moved during the afternoon so that when we got to the new campsite we could be covered by the shadows as we set up the tents and other equipment.

Mr Crepsley complained a lot about moving, although he liked it, he didn't like the repetition of taking down the tents, only to put them back up again in a few hours. It made me laugh when he was grumbling, especially when it caused him to drop something or trip over and he would quickly look around to see if anyone saw him.

Today was a moving day, we had performed the last show the night before and we had begun to pack things away. The move was done in three shifts; while two groups worked one would have their dinner, once that group had finished eating everyone would rotate until everyone had eaten and there was a burst of energy as all three groups worked to finish the job. My group was eating, I was sitting next to Evra at a single table; we were talking about where we might end up next.

"I'd like to see more of the country," Evra said around a piece of steak, "I know that the cities get a bigger audience, but I like the open space in the country."

Our last few stops had been the major cities and I had to agree with Evra about the open spaces, especially if we were near farms, I liked to watch the sunset over the mountains and valleys.

"Well you never know we could be on our way to a deserted, dusty plain in the middle of nowhere." I joked.

"We can only hope." Evra and I laughed for a little bit before Gertha Teeth came and tapped us on the shoulder to say that we were rotating.

My stomach did a flip because I knew that Mr Crepsley's group had eaten before us and that meant I'd be working with him or at least near him and that was good enough. I walked over to his tent to find that it was collapsed on the floor with a figure underneath it cursing loudly.

"Need some help?" I asked when I got closer.

The cursing stopped and so did the frantic movements, "Darrien, is that you?"

"Yes Larten, it's me, are you okay under there?"

There was a loud sigh and I knew that Mr Crepsley had tried to dissemble the tent by himself; after all these years you'd think he would have it down to an art, but he seemed to think that tents were 'evil devices of torture to bring others twisted amusement'.

"No, I am not okay," He sounded frustrated, "May you please assist me with this contraption?"

I laughed and walked up to the tent, grabbed the edge and flung it upward, giving Mr Crepsley enough time to flit from under it; we did this every time, even before we were together. After all these years I couldn't work out why he wouldn't let anyone help him, but I guessed it was because he didn't want anyone to know his weakness.

I caught Larten glowering at the fallen material as if it were a foe who had forced him to walk away; his cheeks were flustered and his orange hair was a tangled mess. I don't think he realised I looked like he had just had sex and I didn't plan on telling him.

"You'll beat it next time," I patted Larten on the shoulder, "And after that we can try a phone."

"Do not mock me Darrien." Mr Crepsley was still my mentor and he believed that it came before our relationship, it kind of hurt that he thought that way, but I supposed it was apart of how he was raised.

I helped out wherever I could for another hour and a half until the other group had finished eating and I knew from experience that it was best for the younger ones to just get out of the way. Evra and I were sitting in our tent, or what was left of it, and were going through my clothes to try and find a good outfit for when I went on stage.

"What about the corset? You could be a scary goth chick." Evra was holding the corset against his body and checking himself out in the mirror.

"Nah, I'd feel like a cheap hooker." I sighed a bit, I knew how much the corset had cost and I hadn't worn it since I got it which made me feel guilty.

"Well, what if…" Evra trailed of as he started throwing clothes and shoes around the tent until he was satisfied with what he had found, "What if you wore it with this top, these pants and these boots?"

I looked down at the outfit he had placed on the floor; there was a red, silky, long sleeved top, the corset over it, a pair of black tights and a pair of black boots. It was a pirate costume!

"That's awesome, but it's missing something." I frowned as I tried to work out what would complete he look, but Evra beat me to it; he walked over to his trunk and pulled out a red bit of material and put it on the ground next to the other clothes.

"It's a cape, but if you tie it around you waist it could be like a half skirt." It was a similar material to the top and almost the exact colour.

"Why do you even have that?" I asked.

"When I was younger I used to wear it when I performed, I looked like a complete idiot, but I loved it and so I never got rid of it." Evra looked lovingly at the cape and then up at me. "So are you going to show Crepsley?"

I was collecting the clothes that Evra had thrown around and folding them back into my suitcase, "I think I'll surprise him."

"You know he hates surprises." Evra started helping me, though he just seemed to hold on to each item instead of actually doing anything with it like put it away.

Mine and Evra's tent was one of the last to get packed away and we were herded into a black van with Mr Crepsley and a new performer, Derik. Derik was strange, even to me and I had seen a lot of weird things; he could take off his limb and put them anywhere on his body, he was like a walking, talking Picasso painting. He had told us that his body was like a lot of little magnets and he was still trying to work out why he didn't just fall apart or why he couldn't stick to fridges.

I sat next to Mr Crepsley, he had stopped complaining, but he still wore a bit of a scowl that made him look like one of the vampires in a horror movie. The trip was a long one, which meant there was a lot of conversations and a lot of awkward silences; Derik was yet to be introduced to me and Mr Crepsley properly, I think he was scared of us.

"So what's wrong with you guys?" Derik broke the silence that had been dragging on, "I mean I've seem you act, but it seems so normal compared to the others here."

Maybe it was the problem he had with the tent earlier or it could be the fact that when he wanted to, Mr Crepsley could be quite cruel, but what he did next was hilarious. I watched Larten turned to Derik and look him up and down with hungry eyes; he licked his lips and stood to walk over to the now shaking Derik. Mr Crepsley held out his hand and waited for the man in front of him to take it, when he did the introductions begun.

"Name's Derik, human pull apart puzzle." Derik had lost a bit of colour in his cheeks and I didn't blame him.

"Larten Crepsley, magician and vampire at your service." If Derik was pale before he was transparent now. "This is my assistant and fellow vampire, Darrien." He pointed his hand at me and I waved at the trembling man opposite me; I noticed that for a split second he smiled at me.

It was strange for someone in his position to smile, but to make matters worse he winked at me when Mr Crepsley turned his back. At that moment I saw a change in Larten's posture; he always stood tall and confident, but his movement were fluid, but as he turned and walked back to me he was stiff and robotic.

Mr Crepsley sat back down next to me and pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around my waist and squeezing my thigh harder than I would have liked. I could see that Evra was trying hard not to laugh, what I wouldn't have given to punch him right then and there, but all my thoughts were cut short as a hand snuck underneath my skirt. It happened so quick that if it wasn't for me being a half vampire I wouldn't have noticed; to the others it would have just looked like my skirt moved a bit.

I didn't mind Mr Crepsley messing with Derik's head about vampires and I didn't even mind Evra not saying anything about how nice we really were, but what I didn't like was the sudden possessiveness that Larten was showing. Normally, we were allowed to hold hands under the table while we ate or a kiss goodnight before we went to separate tents, but that was all, we hadn't even had sex again; it was almost like Larten hated the physical contact. At least I would believe that if it wasn't for the fact that he was touching me right now, holding me very close and very tightly.

"Mr Crepsley you're hurting me." I whispered so only he could hear over the roar of the engine, but I noticed that Evra had watched my lips and had stopped laughing.

I winced as Crepsley's sharp nails dug into my skin, breaking its surface and drawing blood. The area around where I had been cut felt hot as the trickles of red liquid ran down my legs. Derik's eyes were wide with shock, even Evra looked worried, but no one was more frightened than me, why was Mr Crepsley acting like this? It was completely unlike him to not only be so physical, but to caused me pain without it being apart of a training session. I chanced a glance in Crepsley's direction to find him staring at Derik with an angry look on his face and then I realised something; Larten Crepsley was jealous. I don't think he even knew he was hurting me, his nails didn't dig any deeper, but they didn't move either, it was like he was in a trance.

Instead of trying to move I just sat there with my hands in my lap, attempting to ignore the constant throbbing in my thigh. I had signalled to Evra that everything was okay; he didn't seem to buy it. He didn't really have a choice; he could try and confront Mr Crepsley, but he might get hurt. There was a nagging in the back of my mind, deep down I liked the attention, but I also wanted to know what set it off.

Larten Crepsley was excellent at masking his true feelings which was fine if you were consorting with an enemy, but to do so around your partner was just annoying. This was annoying, the fact that he hadn't said anything or even spoken to me at all was irritating. Why would Mr Crepsley be jealous in the first place? He could take one look at the man and know I had no interest in him; Derik wasn't my type, he was to… I don't even think there's a word for the fact that his limbs were removable and it grossed me out.

Finally the van stopped, both Evra and Derik practically dove for the door, leaving me and Mr Crepsley sitting alone in a car that reeked of blood and fear. The vampire's eyes followed the detachable man as he and Evra went to help unload the other vans.

"Mr Crepsley?" My voice shook as I spoke; I was still scared out of my mind.

"Hmm?" Larten came out of his trance to see the pain in my eyes.

He looked confused for a moment, until I stood up and his nails were torn out of my flesh, this caused fresh blood to flow over my skin. I saw the look of horror wash over Crepsley; he looked at my leg, then at his hands and back to my leg. He moved quickly, dropping down to his knees and licking the wounds he had caused the heal them; although the blood would stop I would still have scarring. I didn't move as Larten stood to face me, I just looked into his eyes and as usual they held little emotion; I detected a bit of confusion and self hate, but nothing else.

"What was wrong?" I didn't think the question made much sense after I said it, but Crepsley got the idea.

"After I introduced us, although I had planned on scarring young Derik a bit, it seemed he took a shine to you in a way that angered me." Larten sustained to hold my gaze and I was sure he could see my uncertainty because he continued. "Derik's body let off chemicals that suggested his intent with you, I could smell it. He had… what was it you children call it? Pre-cum? Is that it?"

My jaw dropped a little for two distinct reasons; Derik had intensions towards me, but most of all… Larten Crepsley just said pre-cum! I didn't even think a word like that was in his vocabulary and what did he mean by 'you children'? Tonight my emotions hated me and thought it was fun to play games on me; I didn't know what to do. I knew Mr Crepsley was just being protective and that was kind of sweet, but he had hurt me in the process. God, if only he'd say something instead of just standing there like a big, dumb vampire!

"I have to go," I turned to leave, "Goodnight Mr Crepsley."

"Goodnight Darrien." That hurt; no kiss goodnight, no asking if I was okay or if I wanted to stay with him tonight. Doesn't he know anything about relationships?

I stepped out of the van and walked through the half set up Cirque Du Freak campsite. It was cold and I had packed all my jumpers and jackets away not really thinking about the weather. I wasn't really thinking about it now; I wasn't really thinking about anything, my mind was completely blank. After walking for a while I recognised mine and Evra's tent, it was almost set up and by the time I reached it the snake boy was tightening the last few ropes.

"Hey Darrien, is everything okay?" Evra smiled.

You know how when you feel really upset, but you keep your emotions in check right up until someone asks if you're okay? This was one of those times; the second the words left his mouth the tears left my eyes. I didn't quite know why I was crying, but it felt right.

"Hey, hey," Evra raced over and hugged me, "Everything's okay, it's all okay, shhhh." I felt Evra lead us into the tent.

Evra was good at doing the right things when someone was upset, I guess living with a girl in your room for a few years taught him some tricks. He sat me down on my bed and raced off, when he came back Evra sat next to me with a large box that we had named the 'Better Box' because it was a box that made you feel better; lame, but true. He opened it and all I could smell was chocolate and candy, I was already feeling better and I hadn't even eaten any; that's how good it worked.

"Open up." The snake boy reached into the box and pulled out watermelon favoured rock candy with bits of chocolate stuck to it and held it to my mouth.

I let Evra feed me an assortment of lollies until my tears had stopped and my stomach started; when it grumbled loudly it was a sign that the tank was full and it was probably time for sleep. I smiled weakly at the scaled boy… no, the scaled man before me. Evra had done so much for me over the years; taking the blame for silly things, showing me the ropes and now he comforted me without even knowing what was wrong.

"Well, I do believe we just weaselled our way out of helping set up camp." Evra gave a soft chuckle before looking at me a bit more seriously, "Did Crepsley… do anything?"

I was taken back for a second until I realised how everything must look to him; I quickly explained what had happened and once I was finished I waited to hear Evra's comments. They were not what I expected.

"That dickhead!" Evra looked angry, "I can't believe he just let you walk away like that; all that trouble about being jealous and then he lets you go towards Derik? Does he even realise how stupid he is?"

"It's not that bad Evra, he doesn't know any better. You know he's a mentor first and my boyfriend second." I tried to calm Evra, but I just seemed to make matters worse.

"No, no I did not know that he was a mentor first, that doesn't even make sense!" Evra stood and looked at the entrance to the tent and I saw the cogs working in his head, "I'm gonna go say something to him."

I didn't even get to make a counter argument before he was gone and to prevent causing more trouble I stayed put, alone in the tent with the 'Better Box'. I think we'll need to go shopping for more chocolate after this is all done.

About twenty minutes had passed by the time Evra got back into the tent and he didn't look so happy. I got up and met him halfway; I had never seen Evra look so upset before. The suspense was killing me, but I didn't want to press matters and for a long time we just stood there; me looking at Evra and Evra looking at the floor.

"So did you say something?" The silence was killing me and I needed to know what had happened.

"Oh yeah, I said something alright and then Crepsley said something and I went to say something else, but Crepsley said some more things that made me think, but then I said something I probably shouldn't have and then Crepsley did something I didn't think he would." Evra's focus hadn't moved from the floor and I was sure he was crying.

"What did you say?" My heart was pounding in my chest and something in the back of my mind was screaming at me that things weren't right.

"I told him that he didn't deserve you." Evra's voice was quiet and croaky.

Now my hands were shaking and my heart was beating somewhere in my throat, sweat started to bead on my forehead and my mind started racing through all the possible outcomes.

"What did he do?" I was almost too afraid to ask, but I had to know.

There was a long pause and Evra didn't answer so I repeated the question, "What did he do?"

"He agreed."

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**(A/N)**

**Still haven't remembered the thing I was meant to write... I have found that cliffhangers are my new thing, they bring me great joy and annoy others into continuing to read my stories. I know this is a big risk and I might annoy people too much, but I don't care, it's too fun.**

**Anyways, I hope you like the chapter and I promise that the next will be up soon; it will be short, sweet and will probably make you go, "Awwww..." If not then I fail. Please Review!**


	4. Green Eyed Vampire

**(A/N)**

**And it's up! Next chapter has arrived and hopefully you all like it. R&R!**

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There was a panic rising in my chest, my breath was getting short and I could see my vision blurring; I was having an anxiety attack. What did he mean he agreed? Does that mean we're no longer together? Did we just break up? I don't do break ups, I can't handle them, that's why I never get into a relationship in the first place. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, but it wasn't working as well as I would have liked.

To say I was confused would be an understatement and for about five minutes of silence, I felt every emotion under the sun and more. So many thoughts were racing through my mind and I couldn't decipher one from the next. Evra was yet to say anything more and I could tell that he hated himself for doing what he did and I felt terrible for letting him. I was hopeless, useless and completely dumbstruck.

I looked at Evra, my best friend in the whole world, and I wanted to apologise for everything I've ever done that might have upset him; no matter how small. I was such a fool, why did I even think that my relationship with Larten Crepsley could even be more than what it was to begin with; a mentor and his assistant. Why did he have to like me in return?

Larten and I had only been together for a short time, but we have known each other for a few years and a bond had grown. Even if we hadn't been together, I would have felt terrible if he was upset over something.

There was a long pause that dragged on; it was only when we heard a rustling of the tent door opening did either of us look up. It was Mr Tall, the owner of the Cirque Du Freak; he had to lean over so that he didn't hit his head on the roof. He towered over us with an emotionless face.

"Good evening Darrien, Evra, I couldn't help but notice your lack of help tonight with setting up camp. Would you care to explain?" My guess was the Mr Tall already knew, he knew a lot of things, but he didn't like just bringing them up in conversation.

I told him abut what had happened in the van and Evra filled in the gaps about what was said when he left and by the end of it I was in tears again with the snake-boy trying to comfort me. It came to no surprise that Mr Tall hadn't interrupted us with unnecessary questions or comments during our explanation.

"I see," Mr Tall rubbed his chin, "The best course of action would be to talk to Larten and work it out for yourselves, no more further help from friends."

He cast a look at Evra who shrunk a bit and almost tried to hide behind me, Mr Tall could be very intimidating when he wanted to be.

"But I don't even know where he went, Evra said he flitted away." I sniffled.

"Larten has always been one for dramatics, you will find him on the roof of an abandoned cottage two hundred kilometres south-east." Mr Tall pointed in the direction I needed to go and I wasted no time.

Leaving the tent I ran as fast as I could to the cottage, heart thumping in my ribcage, pumping all my blood to my head and making me dizzy. Before I even reached it I could see Mr Crepsley sitting on the roof like Mr Tall had said he would be. I stood on the ground trying to work out the best way to get onto the roof without looking like a complete idiot.

It took me a while to get on the roof and I was glad that Larten didn't just leave in the meantime; instead he sat there with tears streaming down his cheeks, staring off into the distance. It was almost like he didn't know I was there, but that was a stupid thing to think, Crepsley knows everything. The moon was almost full and it reflected off of the water droplets on his face, his personal walls had crumbled and his heart was on display. Very dramatic indeed.

I stood on the slanted roof trying not to fall off, but despite the overwhelming sadness of the whole ordeal, I couldn't imagine Mr Crepsley looking so beautiful. I just wished I knew what to say instead of standing there like a stunned mullet.

"Am I to assume that Evra told you what was said?" Crepsley's voice cracked as he spoke.

"You could assume that," I walked over and sat down next to Larten, "Why did you let me leave? I mean… I don't know." I couldn't think of anything smart to say.

It seemed that in situations like this one, my IQ dropped to zero and I became a bumbling mess, so it was better if I just let him talk.

"To be honest, I did not want you to leave, but I thought it was one of those times where you needed to be alone." I could barely hear the vampire over my own sobs. "I hate myself for letting you walk away from me, I could not move, it was like my mouth had been glued shut and my feet were planted to the floor."

We were both crying, but neither of us could face the other, not even if we wanted to. I could hear noises from the Cirque and the sounds of the wildlife around us. Taking a look around, I noticed that we were in a country environment with tall mountains in the distance and large green fields; it was just what me and Evra had been talking about.

"I didn't want to leave," I croaked out, "I wanted you to pull me back into you're arms and kiss me and tell me that you love me and that everything would be okay. I wanted you to sweep me off my feet and take me to our house in a small village with our two beautiful children."

"But Darrien, we do not have a house in a small village nor do we have children; vampires can not have children, you know that." Larten looked up confused.

"I know, but it doesn't stop me wanting it." I smiled weakly and looked sideways at Mr Crepsley, "I always wanted a perfect life, one with a loving husband, a beautiful family, the house of my dreams and not a care in the world. I wanted every movies stars perfect life. But that's not reality, in my reality I'm technically dead, I live with a freak show and my boyfriend is a two hundred and something year old vampire. Does that sound perfect to you?"

I didn't mean to snap at Crepsley and most of all I didn't mean to be so overly rude, but I was so upset with him for letting me leave and I was upset with myself for leaving. I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around them and hung my head to hide my tears. There was a pain in my stomach that racked my whole body; suddenly I felt an arm wrap around me and pull me closer.

I found myself laying on my side with my head resting in Larten's lap and him smiling down at me. Behind him I could make out the stars in the cloudy night sky.

"I could not picture a more perfect life if I tried." And there was the smile that made my insides melt.

We sat on the roof of the old abandoned cottage, staring up at the stars; the night sky looked like a sheet of dark blue velvet laced with fairy lights. It was getting colder and I still hadn't gotten a jacket. I saw goosebumps slowly appearing on my skin, although vampires don't feel the cold like humans do, it was still annoying. A shiver travelled down my spine and caused me to jump a little bit.

"Are you cold?" Larten looked down at me with raised eyebrows.

"I'll be fine, just a bit of a chill." I lied.

"Please Darrien; let me do this the right way." Mr Crepsley stood and took off his cloak and held it up for me.

I smiled and stood up, slipping my arms into the appropriate holes; I loved the feel of his cloak, it was like hot chocolate wrapped in silk. It was still warm from Larten's body heat; I felt his arms wrapped around me again and we sat back down and continued our star gazing. I pointed out a shooting star as it went by and Crepsley pointed out some of the constellations.

Hours passed with little words being said, we had a small conversation about a place called Paradise; it was like a human's heaven, but for vampires, I was always sceptical about those things, but it sounded nice. Another small chat about a place called Vampire Mountain, Vampire Princes and Generals; I asked if we could go there one time and Larten went silent, mumbling something about not having a choice about things.

Dawn was fast approaching and I knew that our perfect moment would soon come to an end; the stars were fading and the orange glow of the morning sun was becoming brighter. I looked up at Larten only to find that his eyes were shut and his breathing was slow and steady; he was asleep. Using all strength I lifted Mr Crepsley over my shoulder and carefully manoeuvred my way down from the roof. I knew the vampire hadn't slept right for a couple of nights, even if he wouldn't tell me why.

About half way back to the Cirque Du Freak I realised that I was gaining unwanted daylight; picking up my speed, I still didn't have the heart to wake Crepsley and tell him to flit back to the tent. I staggered under the extra weight, almost loosing my footing, but I kept going. Entering the Cirque, just as I was about to collapse, the weight was suddenly gone; for a moment I feared that I had dropped Mr Crepsley, but I realised that Evra had taken him off of my shoulders. Just to think that I used to tease him about getting up so early; I used to say that the reason he got up so early was because that was the time I got back and he wanted to avoid me, he always laughed and agreed with me.

My entire body ached from the funny angle I had been sitting on while we were on the roof and carrying Larten over two kilometres meters; I was kneeling on the grass, breathing heavily when there was a tap on my shoulder. When I finally summoned the energy to look up, I saw an extraordinarily tall man with small black teeth staring down at me.

"I see you and Larten have worked things out," He gave a half smile; "You will need to endure him if you wish to survive as a vampire."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed; why did everyone see him as my mentor first?

"You are more important to him than he knows; he was drawn to you through destiny and you will both need each other if you are to live through the coming war." With this, Mr Tall left.

The only thing I could think about, the only thing my brain absorbed was that there is a war coming and I might not survive it. For a long time I didn't move, my subconscious noticed that people were slowly waking up and making their way to breakfast, but my conscious mind could only think about my possible death.

Mr Tall had said that if I stayed with Mr Crepsley I would be fine and judging the fact that he never tells anyone about their future, he had probably told me too much. I gradually got to my feet, testing each muscle as I had to use them; there were a few aches and pains, but nothing that a good day's sleep wouldn't fix. Knowing that Evra would be in and out of the tent all day, I wouldn't get that sleep, not properly anyways. I brushed some dirt and grass off of Larten's cloak I was still wearing and cursed myself for getting it dirty.

Instead of heading to my shared accommodation with the snake-boy, I walked in the direction of Mr Crepsley's tent, passing a couple of the freak show's inhabitants on the way. The tent was at the far end of the camp site and just as I was coming up to it, Evra was coming out.

"Hey Darrien," Evra smiled before letting it fade, "Did you sort everything out?"

"Yeah, we're good, but I'm really tired; looks like I'll be doing a couple of nightshifts." That's what we called the days where I stayed up all night and slept all day.

"Well he's asleep and I covered up the hole in the roof of the tent too." I think that was Evra's little way of saying sorry.

"Thanks, goodnight Evra." I gave him a quick hug and stepped into the tent to go to bed.

When I finally got inside Crepsley's tent I found that the lid to the coffin was open with a half awake vampire waiting for me.

"I hoped you would join me tonight." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

Eventually I climbed into the coffin and slumped next to Larten, not another word was spoken despite my thousands of unanswered questions and not a single breath was used to ask about the so called war. We just lay in each others embrace silently hoping that we survived the upcoming events.

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**(A/N)**

**I know it's short, but I hope it has satisfied your need for vampire love. The next couple of chapter will slighty rely on you having read the Darren Shan Saga, so that you can understand what I've changed. Don't forget to review so I know what you like!**


	5. Destiny

**(A/N)**

**Hello! This chapter is a little bit longer to make up for the fact that the last one was shorter; I hope that's a good thing. Thank you to everyone who ahs reviewed this and to everyone who will in the furtur.  
**

**I hope you like this chapter because I thought it might be time for a change, that's right I have introduced a new character and will be introducing more as the story carries on.**

**R&R!**

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Even though my body ached from having to share a coffin, I didn't care; it was still the best sleep I had gotten in days. I had woken a little while ago, but decided to go back to sleep, I knew that would mean I would just wake up and be tired from over sleeping, but again I didn't care. Tonight was a no care night and I wouldn't worry about anything.

I slept through most of the day, my body finally getting the rest it needed; Larten's too. As the sun set and more stars became visible I was awoken by a loud knocking sound. The knocking was followed by a moment of silence and then another round of louder more urgent sounds.

After trying to ignore the annoying knocking for a couple of seconds the lid to the coffin was opened and a scared looking Evra was looking down on us. Larten looked at him then jumped out of the coffin, he grabbed his cloak which I had put on a chair on my way in and suddenly he was gone out of the tent.

"Okay, I'll bite. What was that?" I asked as I stretched.

"I think you better go with too, he was asking for you as well." Evra also left.

"Who asked for me?" My question went unanswered and I decided to try to catch up to the others.

The Cirque Du Freak was unusually quiet for this time of night; tonight was our first show in the new area and people were getting ready to perform, but the air seemed thick with the wrong kind of anticipation. Just by walking through the campsite my breath got short and my chest got tight, but whenever I attempted to make eye contact, everyone avoided me like the plague. In fact everyone was avoiding everyone. Somewhere in the bottom of my gut I had a sinking feeling that something was wrong; I raised my hand and knocked on Mr Tall's tent, not even realising where I had stopped.

A deep rumbling voice told me to enter and I did; before me stood Mr Tall, Mr Crepsley and at the far end of the tent sat a plump man in a horrid yellow suit and green wellington boots. The other two men in the tent wore concerned looks and were avoiding casting their gaze anywhere but the floor. The whole scene was very unnerving to say the least and the man in the corner kept smiling and playing with what looked like a heart shaped watch. I instantly didn't like him, I didn't know why or how I knew this, I just didn't like the way he looked so comfortable.

"Darrien Shan, what an honour it is to finally meet you." The fat man stood and held out his hand, "I am Mr Tiny."

I shook his hand and forced a smile before giving Mr Crepsley a questioning look.

"What is it you want Desmond?" Larten's voice was angered, but not raised.

"I only wished to see how the Cirque was doing, check up on my Little People and to see Miss Shan of course." Mr Tiny turned his focus back on me.

"What does Darrien have to do with anything?" Mr Crepsley moved closer and pushed me away from the short man.

"She has a lot more to do with things than you might like," His smiled became twisted, "You know how interested I am with chaos, do you really think I've taken a shine to young Darrien because I think she's going to solve world hunger?"

Mr Tall sighed and rubbed his brow as he made his way to the door of the tent, "I am going to have to request that you leave Desmond, I don't wish for you to reveal what destiny has in store for this pair."

"Oh, but I'm only revealing a little," Mr Tiny didn't move, "There's a war coming Larten, a big one, the biggest in fact and I have a mission for you, whether you choose to accept it or not is up to you."

I watched as Desmond's eyes shifted from Mr Crepsley to me and back again; the sinking feeling got worse and I suddenly felt dizzy.

"But her life will hang in the balance." His smile got wider and Mr Tiny rose from his chair. "You can stay here with the travelling freak show or you can go to Vampire Mountain and deliver a very important message for me; you know which one is the better choice."

Larten Crepsley looked at me with apologetic eyes, the tension in the room became an eerie silence as the vampire made his choice; my heart was beating so hard I was afraid that everyone could hear it. My focus kept shifting from one face to the other and my thoughts raced as I tried to figure out what was going on; how could this choice possibly decide whether I live or die?

"I will travel to Vampire Mountain and deliver your message, but Darrien stays here." Larten stated.

"I'm sorry, the deal doesn't work that way, it's either you both stay or you both go." Mr Tiny continued to play with his watch, which seemed to have a dull red glow to it.

"What if we do neither?" I spoke without even meaning to, "What happens then?"

Mr Crepsley pulled me closer and whispered harshly for me to be quiet. "Do not speak." He hissed.

"I think you should teach that girl some manners," Desmond's eyes flashed, "I would love to punish her for you, teach her some real manners."

Mr Crepsley's grip got tighter and he stepped back, me in tow. "That will not necessary, she's is my responsibility and I will punish her as I see fit."

"Very well then. The message must be delivered to the Vampire Princes themselves and from your mouth only." Mr Tiny walked towards the still open door, but paused before he was completely gone. "The Vampaneze Lord has been found, let the war begin."

With those final words the fat man in the yellow suit known as Desmond Tiny was gone and I was left with hundreds if not thousands of questions I wanted answered. No one spoke and I was getting fidgety not completely knowing what had just happened or how important it was that we did what Mr Tiny said.

"Why do we have to do what that guy says, can't we just ignore him?" I questioned; the first of many.

"Des Tiny has a way of knowing when something is going to happen and instead of letting things play out as they should, he will rearrange time itself to create an unnecessary amount of chaos in the world." Mr Crepsley explained, but he didn't seem to be himself.

"Larten, are you okay?" I moved closer and put my hand on his shoulder.

"No Darrien, I am not okay." He looked over at Mr Tall, "We must leave immediately, no questions asked."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Mr Crepsley shot me a warning glance then continued to say his goodbyes to Mr Tall and left the tent. Leaving me no choice I followed with my head down; I didn't want to look at the people I had grown so attached to, the Cirque had replaced my family and now I had to leave them. We were almost back to our tent when we were cut off by Evra, he looked upset.

"You're leaving, but why?" Evra was close to tears.

"I don't know, all I know is that if I don't go I'll die." It didn't make much sense to me, but the snake-boy seemed to understand.

"Where do you have to go?"

"Vampire Mountain" I turned to look at Mr Crepsley only to find that he had kept walking and was packing our tent up, "Larten seems really worried and if he's worried then I know it's important."

Evra nodded his agreement then flung his arms around me as tears flowed down his cheeks, "I'm gonna miss you Darrien."

I couldn't hold back any longer; water rushed from my eyes as I hugged back, "I'm gonna miss you too."

I didn't know how long I was going to be gone, but judging by the intensity of the hug, it was going to be a while before I got to see my best friend again. By the time we pried ourselves apart Larten was standing next to us again holding two bags, he held one out to me and I grabbed it.

"Please check that there is enough… stuff… to last you a long time, I did not pack fashion items, they will not be needed." I opened the bag and went through every item, counting and doing basic maths to try and work out how long everything would last me.

It was only when I was putting everything back in the bag did I realise how much stuff fit into it; an unusual amount of clothing was in the small bag. I raised my eyebrows as I put the last shirt in the bag and pushed down only to create more room.

"It was a present from a witch." Mr Crepsley explained, "It holds a lot."

Before he could ask what I was doing I raced off into the tent; when I came back out I was in my pirate costume and carrying a jacket Evra brought me as an early birthday present. I hadn't shown Larten the pirate costume or the jacket yet, I did a small twirl and a smile snuck across his face, then I held out the jacket showing the picture on the back. It was a black jacket with the words _'Bram Stoker's Dracula"_ and a picture of a famous actor posing as a vampire. This made Crepsley laugh, we had watched the movie not that long ago and he had complained the whole way through; we watch a lot of vampire movies as a joke.

"Very nice," His smile faded and head dropped, "I know you don't want to, but we must leave now Darrien."

"Okay," I hugged the snake-boy again, "Goodbye Evra, don't ever change."

"I won't if you won't." He smiled through the tears we both shared. "I'll make sure your stuff is looked after Mr C."

"Thank you Evra, tell everyone we say goodbye." He patted Evra on the shoulder.

Eventually we pulled apart and I reluctantly followed Larten into the growing darkness, when we were far enough away I hopped onto his back and he paused.

"We are not supposed to flit to Vampire Mountain, but I do believe that this is an exception, we won't flit all the way just a large amount of it." I nodded my understanding and we were gone; a blur in the night.

As we came to our first stop I looked around to see that there was still a reasonable amount of people still wandering the streets, which was great for Crepsley who decided he needed to fill up on human blood before making this trip and suggested I didn't the same. We bought a few things from a 24 hour service station such as lollies and chips for me plus a large box of face wipes and deodorant for both of us. Larten explained that there was only a waterfall in which to shower and that the water was freezing, so if I wanted to smell nice I would have to do it the hard way.

Once everything was paid for we went to a fast food restaurant and got a quick food fix; I knew it would last us long with the distance we needed to travel, but it was still fun to watch Crepsley's face as he bit into the burger. Soon we were on our way again, we stopped only a couple more times, mostly to give Larten a rest and to pick up anything else we needed that came to mind; mostly more lollies.

I hated flitting for two reasons, one: it made me feel sick and two: it made me cold. It was only when I noticed that we had been flitting for nearly two hours taking very little stops I had to question myself if we had crossed water or not. Mr Crepsley's movement came to a halt and he fell to the ground; I barely caught myself let alone him as well. I carefully placed Larten on the dirt and saw that he was breathing heavily and his cheeks were bright red. He must be completely exhausted.

Lifting the now passed out Mr Crepsley onto my shoulders, I walked to and small cluster of trees, I hoped that their thick canopy above would shelter the vampire from the daylight. I made sure he was comfortable by collecting fallen leaves and our bags to make a dodgy looking bed. My stomach rumbled loudly and I thought it might be a good idea to look for food; after rummaging through Mr Crepsley's bag I found a brand new hunting knife; he was against them, but had convinced him to get it on our second rest stop.

I slid the material from Evra's cape through the belt loop in the knife sheath and tightened it around my waist; I had become a hunter. The area we were in was extremely dark and even with my enhanced vision I had trouble seeing and after about an hour and a half of finding nothing I was about to give up completely. Suddenly there was a faint scratching sound, the first sound other than my own footsteps. I stopped moving and listened carefully; it was coming from above me and when I looked up there was a pair of bright yellow orbs looking down on me.

My heart skipped a beat as I realised it was a possum and being a male it wouldn't be carrying any young with it; dinner was served. Slowly, I edged towards the animal; I put the knife in my mouth pirate style and dug my finger nails into the bark of the tree. I started to climb, the possum had lost interest in me and apparently didn't see me as a threat; that angered me and only made me want to kill it more.

"I'm gonna get you, you stupid possum thing." I whispered to myself.

Once I was sitting right next to the possum I didn't waste any time, I grabbed my knife and plunged it deep into the animals back so it pierced its heart. The possum made a strange squealing sound and thrashed around for a second before it went limp; did all dying animals have to be so dramatic? I grabbed the possum's tail and hauled it over my shoulder; getting back to camp was difficult in the dark, but I managed.

As I came up to where Mr Crepsley was lying down I realised I probably should have lit the fire first and then gone hunting for food, but I hadn't and now I did. I rummaged through Larten's bag I found some matches, but there was only five left; I thought long and hard about whether I should use one or not. Then I remembered I had found a lighter at one of the stops and put it in my bag; I pulled it out of the bag and put it next to the dead animal body.

"I could have lit the god damn fire first and this would have all gone so much smoother, but no, I had to go and do things the hard way." I grumbled at my own stupidity.

Racing off into the darkness, I quickly collected some medium sized rocks, some dry leaves and some small twigs. After I started the fire and it was going steady, I went back out and got some bigger logs to put on the fire to make it hotter. When the fire was finally roaring and ready to go I began to skin the possum and cut it up, putting the bits of meat into some strange unfolding pots Larten as ways had on him.

Into the pot went possum meat, tree roots and what I hoped was cut up apples and not balls of poison. I drained the possum of blood and put that into small vials; it was nearly two thirty in the morning when I finished cooking and woke Crepsley to eat. To my surprise, dinner didn't taste half as bad as I thought it was going to and Larten seemed to enjoy it.

Mr Crepsley even complemented how clever and independent I was and how proud he was of me; by the time we had finished eating and had searched the nearby area for anything dangerous, the sun had begun to rise. Luckily we were situated under a heavy growth of wild trees and bushes and the sun only trickled through when a strong breeze blew. I was extremely tired and so was Larten, so it came to no surprise that when we got comfortable and my head rested on Crepsley's arm that I fell asleep instantly.

"We have a long journey ahead of us Darrien." Mr Crepsley explained in the morning, "The trek to Vampire mountain is not an easy one; it was made to weed out the weak vampires from the strong ones in a test of strength, endurance and mind set."

"Is that why we can't flit there?" I asked as I took my shoes off; you weren't supposed to wear them either.

"Yes, although it is not a rule, flitting to the mountain is frowned upon." He explained.

"Are we going to get into trouble for flitting this far?" I didn't want to get into trouble.

"Flitting this far was the best choice, if we had travelled normally it would have taken weeks if not months; besides, there is a lot more we are going to have to confront when we get there." Mr Crepsley suddenly looked worried again.

"What do you mean? We haven't done anything wrong, have we?"

"You have not, but I on the other hand face trail and possible death," He paused to look at me, my face full of terror, "But I doubt it will come to that. I was once a highly respected Vampire General in the running for Prince; they will not get rid of me that easily."

"But I don't understand what have you done?" I put my shoes in my bag and stood to begin our journey.

"It is against our laws to blood a child; vampires believe that a child isn't capable of deciding a life decision like that." He looked at me again. "I am hoping that because your eighteenth birthday is coming up and the fact that you are only a half-vampire that they will waver the sentence this once."

"But you didn't give me a choice; I either became a half-vampire or let my best friend die. Can't you tell them that, won't that mean something?" I asked.

"If I tell them that they will only think I am a cruel vampire with no soul." He said with a smirk and began to walk, leaving the conversation at a stand still.

I knew that climbing a mountain bare foot, with no ropes and using only you finger and toe nails was going to be hard, but I never imagined it being this difficult. Two days into the climb I had hardened the soles of my feet enough that I could probably walk on broken glass and not feel a thing. I had cut myself so many times that I stopped asking Mr Crepsley to heal the wounds and I had stained and ripped my pirate costume with enough blood to look like a murder victim.

We were at the second last stop before Vampire Mountain and about to enter the cave when Larten stopped in his tracks, causing me to bump into the back of him. He held out in arm the signalled for me to be quiet and when I looked up I noticed a dull glow from the cave that meant someone had lit a fire. I was scared. I didn't know what other vampires were like, Larten could be the nicest there is and the others could be complete monsters.

I watched as Mr Crepsley snuck into the cave and disappeared into the unknown. There were the sounds of a struggle and then a moment of silence before the sound of two men laughing. Instead of investigating I stood where I was told to stay and wait for Larten to come and get me; it was a few minutes before he emerged from the cave with another man.

Mr Crepsley was smiling widely and it was a little disconcerting to see him so happy; I mean it was a nice change, but it still raised my eyebrow. As they got closer I examined the man he was with; he was shorter than Mr Crepsley and had a warm smile that was slightly distorted by the many overlapping scars on his face. All in all, the stranger seemed nice enough and Larten wouldn't be smiling like he was if he did know and trust this man.

They were standing in front of me smiling; I must have be pulling a strange face because the new vampire spoke, "Everything alright small fry, this old bat giving you any trouble?"

I smiled and my tension seeped away, I caught Mr Crepsley give the man a condescending look before facing me.

"This is Gavner Purl; I have known his for a very long time and for some reason he believes we are friends." A smirk snuck across Larten's face as he received a light tap to the shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you Mr Purl." I did a small curtsy, but was surprised as the favour was returned as Gavner bowed.

"The famous Darrien Shan, you have lovely manners," Gavner stood then smiled, "I blame him." He pointed his thumb at Mr Crepsley.

"Mr Crepsley, why does everyone know my name?" I asked.

"You haven't told her, have you?" Gavner asked only to have Larten shake his head, "Why is it you always leave things until the last minute?"

"I think we had better get inside and out of the cold, we can discuss things then." With this we were herded into the cave.

When I got inside there were four coffins, a fire and a few jars of blood; this way stop was much nicer than the other ones and much more welcoming. We sat down around the fire to warm ourselves and I caught a few unnerving glances shared between to two men; I thought that maybe they were communicating telepathically, but it didn't help know what was being said. Finally the focus was back on me and I hated it when I was the centre of attention.

"So, how much do you know about vampires?" Gavner was the first to break the silence.

"I only know what Mr Crepsley has told me, which I suspect isn't very much." This was true, he only ever told me something when I ask specifically about it and he only gave short answers.

"This could be a problem," Gavner scratched his face much like I've seem Crepsley do, "Darrien do you have any idea why you are so famous to vampires?"

"Umm, to be honest I have no idea." I really didn't.

"Well sweet pea," Crepsley shot Gavner a warning look, "You are the youngest vampire ever."

"Ever?" My eyes went wide, "That can't be true."

"It is and there's more, you're a girl and I'm not being sexist, but there are hardly any female vampires." Gavner looked longingly into the distance, "Their not unheard of, but they are rare."

"Why is a female vampire so rare?" I felt like I was asking a lot of stupid questions, but Gavner seemed to be loving the conversation and answered my questions with enthusiasm.

"Because once you become a vampire you become infertile, you did know that much right?" I nodded and her continued, "Most women don't wish to give up the possibility of children and so they never become a vampire. Men on the other hand, seem to think that not being able to have children is a blessing and only after a couple of decades do they realise it's a curse."

"Did I forget to tell you that Gavner is a hopeless romantic?" Crepsley smiled at me, "Gavner may you hurry things along, the sun will be up soon and I wish to rest."

"You can go to sleep now if you want, me and Darrien will keep talking." The scarred vampire winked at me and I could almost hear Larten's eyes roll in his skull.

"I wouldn't put Darrien through that kind of torture, I will stay awake, but you had better hurry up." Mr Crepsley's smiled faded and he became serious, "This is in fact a matter of life and death."

"Okay, okay, I'm hurrying. Alright, because it is against our laws to blood anyone under the age of eighteen –I think it should be twenty one- Larten is going to have to face a trial and it is very possible that he will be killed for his crime." Before I could complain Gavner pressed on, "But because the old bat is so highly respected he may get away with a slap on the wrist."

"But what if he doesn't?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear the answer, but I had already asked the question.

"Then I am walked to the Hall of Death where I will put in a cage and dropped onto wooden stakes until I am dead." Crepsley didn't even flinch as he spoke.

My stomach turned at thought of Crepsley's possible punishment and it was all because I had to be all high and mighty and save my friend; although if given the choice again, I wouldn't change it.

"I feel sick." I grabbed my stomach and I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, "Then perhaps it is time for bed." Mr Crepsley smile gently down at me.

"Your choice my lady." Gavner stood and waved his arm at the coffin that were slightly deeper in the cave to avoid the morning sun.

I walked over to the coffins and examined each one carefully before choosing the largest one there; I climbed in and said my goodnights. After hearing a few hushed whispers, there were foot steps that headed towards me and just as I had hoped, Mr Crepsley was joining me. As he was getting into the coffin a noise made him turn around; it was Gavner suppressing a laugh.

"What is your problem now Gavner?" Crepsley said with his hand resting on the lid ready to shut it.

"Larten, you are getting yourself into some serious trouble with that girl, some real bad shi…"

I didn't hear the end of the sentence because the lid to the coffin was slammed shut, although I had a pretty good idea what Gavner was going to say. Crepsley was annoyed at Gavner and his cheeks were slightly red. I draped my arm over his chest, kissed him on the cheek then rested my head on his shoulder and felt his anger float away. Through all the hiking and all the bad news, the only thing I could think about was the fact that my birthday was in less than a week.

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**(A/N)**

**And that's the end of that chapter, but the next will be up soon. I hope Gavner was believable because I don't have the books with me to remind myself how he talks, I just figured he'd be a bit more 'friendly' towards a female Darren.**

**As usuall, please review 'cause I like reading them!**


	6. Mountain Magic

**(A/N)**

**And yet another chapter has flown your way! How luckly are you guys?**

**I would like to dedicate this particular chapter to Equify who has followed the story from the beginning and has requested something special, so Equify I hope this quenches your thirst... For now...**

**Enjoy and as always R&R!**

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The next couple of days were spent hiking the last stretch up Vampire Mountain and what a hike it was; Gavner and Larten had a lot of catching up to do and they hadn't stopped telling stories. I liked seeing Mr Crepsley so happy and the stories were even better told while he was smiling. They seemed to be having a good time. Not much was said to me though, only a few questions that didn't really need answers; I didn't mind at first, but when Larten started sleeping closer and closer to Gavner I became annoyed.

The other night they didn't even go to sleep, instead they stayed up all night talking about the last meeting Larten came to' I found out there was a meeting every now and then at Vampire Mountain where every vampire would travel across the world just to get there. I didn't get much sleep that night because I was slightly interested in the story. A few new names were mentioned like Arrow, Paris, Vancha and Arra; from what I could gather Arra was a girl and I couldn't wait to meet her. The two vampires chatted until around three in the afternoon which was when they decided to go to sleep, but unfortunately Larten didn't sleep in the same coffin as me' I told myself it was because he didn't wish to wake me.

It was the last night before made it to Vampire Mountain and my patience was running thin, I knew that Gavner was an old friend and I had no right to tell Mr Crepsley to stop talking to him and to pay attention to me instead. I wasn't the kind of person to think about themselves before someone else, in fact I had learnt to put myself last if anything. Just thinking about being so selfish made me feel guilty and as I watched Larten and Gavner making the fire while I skinned a small deer that had travelled to high up the mountain I decided against saying anything. As an alternative I would completely ignore Mr Crepsley as pay back; I knew he wouldn't notice if I was ignoring him, but Gavner would say something because he seemed to have better communication skills.

"Let the ignoring begin." I whispered to myself as I handed the meat over to Larten.

"Thank you Darrien." Mr Crepsley said, but I only grunted in return and it went unnoticed.

The deer was cooked and we ate without any conversation, even Gavner's heavy breathing seemed quieter than usual and I hoped that it was me not paying any attention to Mr Crepsley that was causing the awkward silence. I couldn't help but smile to myself at how much fun it was to get my own back at Crepsley. Inside my head I was doing a victory dance.

"That'll teach you for ignoring me." I thought as I watched the fire dance with me.

"We will make it to the entrance of the Mountain before tomorrow night." Mr Crepsley said and my smile fell away. "I think you will enjoy meeting everyone, they can not wait to meet you."

My victory dance came to a halt.

I just nodded and pretended my mouth was full of food, but there was a stabbing pain in my chest when I saw his face drop; Gavner looked up and furrowed his brow. He looked at me then at Mr Crepsley and back again; I saw the cogs in his head ticking and then realisation hit him and he smiled.

"Hey sweet pea," I looked at him, "Could you see if you could find some more of these berries for me?" He winked at me and I put my dinner aside and left the two men to talk.

I think that this was Gavner's way of getting me out of the way so he could talk to Crepsley about how he had been ignoring me so I was doing it back. At least that's what I hoped he was saying, I didn't want him thinking it was just because I'm a teenager who sometimes throws a tantrum. It was nice having a third person around to push Larten around and to talk to me; Gavner was a good guy with a lot of heart.

I didn't walk too far in fear of getting lost, but I did go far enough so that I couldn't hear the conversation between the two vampires. Looking out from the mountain I could see the forest we had emerged from about five days ago and the sunrise in the distance that illuminated the tops of the trees that were further back. Maybe I should have brought a camera with me. I turned and walked a little more up the mountain, but turned and walked back before I got too far.

"Stupid boyfriends, stupid vampires and stupid mountains." As I was walking I kicked a rather large rock and just like in the cartoons it hurt.

I jumped around holding my foot, I looked down at it half expecting it to be throbbing and glowing red, but I was disappointed to find it was just bleeding from a small cut. Luckily my feet had hardened from the climb up Vampire Mountain and the cut hadn't gone very deep so the bleeding would stop soon.

"I hope Gavner explains things before we get to the mountain," I said to myself as I yawned, "I am so tired."

I fell to the ground in a heap and stretched out on the floor; my stomach rumbled as it digested dinner. As I lay on the ground I mentally took note of all my aches and pains which to my surprise was mostly muscle pains from the constant stress they've been under. That just meant that my muscles would be strong then they used to be, this made me smile; I used to ride my bike to school in hopes of building up my muscles, but it never worked.

My eyelids were getting heavier; I didn't even mind the multiple rocks digging into my back because I knew that we would be inside the mountain before sunrise tomorrow. I was even looking forward to sleeping in a coffin even though they still freaked me out a little bit; being in one for so many hours when I faked my death kind of put me off the whole idea. I imagined what the mountain was like and how the other vampires acted. My imagination could keep me entertained for hours on end with little to work with, I could come up with amazing stories just by looking into space; how else would I have survived history class?

Before I knew it I was asleep on the rough ground, all curled up in a ball with very little keeping me warm. I had taken off Evra's cape so it didn't get ruined and I didn't wear any of my newer clothes like my Dracula jacket; instead I was in a torn up Bon Jovi shirt and some old jeans. The knees in the jeans had worn out and there were tears all through the shirt, but at the moment I didn't care, I was too tired to care; I just let my eyelids shut so I could forget the world for a little while.

When I woke up I was in a coffin with Mr Crepsley who was looking at me, I let my eyes adjust to the change in light; it may have been dark outside, but it was nearly pitch black in the coffin.

"Darrien," Mr Crepsley whispered, "I wish to apologise for the way I have been acting lately, I did not realise that I was ignoring you and I am sorry."

"It's okay, you were catching up with Gavner, I just felt a little left out is all." I knew it was a little bit of a lie, but I didn't want things to seem worse then they were, "All is forgiven." With this I kissed Larten on the lips.

To my surprise the favour was returned as he cupped my face and kissed back. His tongue ran along my lips, I allowed him access and we explored each others mouths with enthusiasm. It was a nice change from the cold shoulder I had been receiving for the last week. We finally pulled away and I was able to look into Crepsley's lust filled eyes; never looked more beautiful than now.

"I want to make things up to you Darrien," He ran his hand down my body then back up and under my shirt to massage my breast, "Is this acceptable?"

A moan escaped my mouth as I nodded my response; my hand snuck down the front of Larten's shirt, unbuttoning on the way until I reached his pant. Before he could argue I had undone the button and zip on Crepsley's pants and had taken his member in my hand' lightly rubbing up and down. Mr Crepsley also moaned as my thumb rolled over the tip of his erection, catching the pre-cum that had formed there. The rest of my shirt was torn off my body and Larten's mouth closed over one of my nipples; I inhaled sharply and Crepsley chuckled.

My mind was spinning and my movements stopped as I let Larten take over; his hands were everywhere, as if they were remembering what I felt like. I could hear his breathing becoming ragged and short; the feel of his hands roaming my body made me forget why we were doing this in the first place.

I watched Crepsley open the lid to the coffin so that he could stand to take off his pants; I followed suit and was hit by a rush of cold air that gave me goosebumps. Soon we were both naked and back inside the coffin with the lid closed; back in the darkness like two teenagers fumbling in the backseat of a car. Strong hands forced me to straddle Larten's erection and with a quick fluid motion it slid inside me as I lent forward into his neck where I bit softly on the exposed skin. The vampire's thrusts started out slow, but soon picked up pace as the need the reach his climax became more desperate.

There was a knot slowly building deep in my core that caused me to meet his thrusts with equal force, but it started to fade as Mr Crepsley's movements suddenly slowed right down; I lifted my head confused and slightly frustrated.

"I thought you might want me to last longer." Mr Crepsley puffed as he continued to slowly roll his hips.

Lowering my head I whispered in his ear, "Please Larten, I need you to cum."

There was a strange feeling inside me, as if Crepsley had just gotten harder than before. He began to thrust faster again, but this time it was hurting me; his erection was hitting my wall with ever push. Instead of saying anything I just moved around until I found a spot where it didn't hurt as much and I could focus on the pleasure drowning out the pain.

The knot began grow again; every moan bringing it closer to the surface and every thrust making it stronger. Larten's movements lost their rhythm and became a frantic rush for release; he brought his thumb to my nub and started to massage it. I writhed above him as my muscles contracted around Larten's erection I almost screamed my climax in his ear, but settled with a moan. He soon followed with a few last thrusts and a loud groan as his body went rigid.

Unable to roll over in the medium sized coffin, I was forced to remain on top of Larten who was already drifting off to sleep; he looked up to see how uncomfortable I was and turned to his side. It was a tight squeeze, but we both were able lay in the coffin with our arms around each other. With no towel or energy to clean myself up I knew I would fall asleep with Mr Crepsley's seed sticking to my thighs; something I felt was slightly disgusting, but couldn't be bothered doing anything about.

I was just about to close my eyes and go to sleep when a voice startled me and Mr Crepsley.

"Goodnight you two." Gavner sung from his own coffin across the way.

"Creepy bastard." I whispered and Larten just chuckled as he placed a kiss on my cheek.

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**(A/N)**

**The next chapter will be at the mountain. YAY! I hope this was what I know some of you were waiting for and you will tell me your feelings on it. I know it was a bit short, but you know I'll make it up to you with longer, funnier chapters in the near future.**

**REVIEW! **


	7. Meeting the Ex

**(A/N)**

**I apologise for the wait, my life has been hectic these past couple of weeks. I hope that this chapter is the fix you need to keep you going for that little bit longer. Now that I have graduated, I will have a lot more time on my hands and hopefully that means I will be able to updaye soon. Enjoy!**

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As night fell I could hear rustling from outside of the coffin and it was only when I realised that I could move around that I noticed that Crepsley wasn't with me. I tried to find my clothes, but my shirt had been torn to pieces and my jeans were on the outside of the coffin. Opening the lid a little, I peaked through the gap just in time to watch Larten and Gavner exit the cave. Taking my chance I practically dove out of the coffin and put on my jeans before racing over to my bag and putting on a plain black singlet; I am so ninja.

I think it's Tuesday when we wake up and all I can do is smile like an idiot because I know that today is the last day we spend climbing this stupid mountain. Larten and Gavner are smiling too, but I have a feeling it's for a different reason; they'll whisper to each other then one of them will look at me and chuckle. I don't quite understand why these two grown vampires are acting like a couple a teenagers who are plotting to ring someone's door bell and run, all I know is that tomorrow is my birthday and nothing is going to bring me down.

We've been hiking for five hours now, I'm sore, I'm hungry and it's cold out, but a few minutes ago Larten pointed out the entrance to Vampire Mountain and said it should only be another couple of hours if we push hard enough. After a few more hours my smile is still present, although it is smaller than it was when we stared, but it's still there even if it is only little. I looked down at my hands and feet and they weren't mine, I mean I know that they're mine; who else's would they be? They were scarred, rough, bleeding and worse of all dirty; out of all the things I hated about this climb, it was the fact that I couldn't shower.

Larten told me that they didn't have showers here, just a waterfall they nearly no one used because it was so cold, but I don't care; the first thing I'm doing when I reach that mountain is jumping in that waterfall. I let out a sigh that draws the attention of the other two vampires.

"Are you okay Sweet pea?" Gavner asked, only to get an elbow to the ribs.

"Her name is Darrien Shan, Darrien or Miss Shan will be more than adequate." Mr Crepsley spoke in a low voice that sent shivers down my spine.

I couldn't quite place where I've heard him used that voice before, but I felt like I really should. Instead of dwelling on the small annoyance I decided to answer Gavner's question.

"I just can't wait to get inside this stupid mountain so I can shower."

"Maybe I can join you." Gavner answered only to receive another jab to the ribs and a punch to the face.

I turned to see him on the ground bleeding from the nose and holding his sides, but the idiot was still chuckling.

"You will treat Darrien as if she was nothing less than royalty," Larten's face was red, "One more unacceptable comment and you won't make it to Vampire Mountain, I will make sure of it myself."

With this Mr Crepsley caught up with me and put his arm around me, picked me up and put my on his shoulders. I didn't have a choice in the matter and there was no way in hell I was going to tell him no when he picked me up; I just let him carry me. I felt kind of bad as I turned to see Gavner on the ground struggling to get back up, I knew his smile was just to convince himself that Larten was just joking. My heart sunk to see him look up and watch us walking away; the rest of the climb was done in silence, Larten through anger, Gavner through guilt and me through fear.

Vampire Mountain; we were now trekking through its winding passages and narrow walkways. Ten minutes ago we came to a part of the tunnel that was low and really narrow; I hopped off of Mr Crepsley's back, but didn't get back on when the path widened. Larten was still brooding about what Gavner had said; maybe he's just the jealous type.

Suddenly I hit what felt like a squishy wall, but turned out to be Larten who had stopped when he realised that we had made it to one of the main hallways. He looked left and right, but didn't find what he was looking for; he turned to Gavner and made full eye contact.

"Which way now?" It must have taken a lot for Mr Crepsley not to add a smartarse comment afterward.

Gavner smiled weakly and started walking left, "This way."

Another half hour of twisting turns and doubling back; apparently Gavner didn't know this section of the mountain very well, but said we were close to the eating hall which has an annoying to pronounce name, just like all of the other halls. Soon I could hear talking and smell food; I knew the others could too because they picked up the pace.

We entered an opening in the mountains walkways; its roof was high and it was a long way until the other end of the room. There were long tables set up with many people sitting at them; most were eating, some were talking and others were just sitting with nothing to do. I took a deep breath and all I could smell was hot food and a musky scent similar to Mr Crepsley's; this is where I belong.

Once I had become a half-vampire, I didn't feel like I fit in anywhere, not properly. The Cirque Du Freak always made me feel welcome; the same way my grandma made me feel welcome, but this is what it felt like before I was turned. The feeling started to fade as we walked closer to the tables and people started staring at me, it made me feel like a freak all over again.

"Mr Crepsley?" I gave his cloak a light tug to get his attention.

"Yes Darrien."

"What are they looking at? Do I have something on my face?" I quickly wiped my face, but then realised that my hands were dirty anyways.

"They are looking at you, remember what Gavner said; you are the youngest vampire in history. Remain calm, no one will hurt you; they might ask a few questions, but they do not have any authority to do anything." Larten explained.

No matter how Crepsley worded it, I still felt like I should turn around and run, but my curiosity got the better of me and I continued walking forward. We reached a table in the middle of the room and I sat down next the Larten who poured me and him a bowl of a soup-like substance. Some of the vampires had moved away so not to associate themselves with us, whereas others moved in closer to get a better look at what was sitting next to Crepsley.

I started shovelling food down my throat and soon I was on my third bowl. Even when I asked what it was and Larten replied that it was bat broth it didn't slow me down; I liked it, knowing what it was didn't change that. Gavner made a comment about how much I could fit in my mouth, but before he told any rude jokes he stopped himself and said I had a healthy appetite instead.

After a while I saw a tall, lanky vampire walk up to us and tap Mr Crepsley on the shoulder, "Larten, is that you?" His voice was deep and gravely; I couldn't place his accent, but it sounded Russian.

"Artem!" Crepsley jumped from his seat and hugged the other vampire, "I haven't seen you since I was in Russia."

I was right; he was Russian or at least spends enough time there to pick up the accent. Artem was not only tall, but he looked strong, his nose was crooked, his eyes were small and his smile was big. His giant hands consumed Larten's in a strong handshake before he let go and gave Crepsley a serious look; his eyes narrowed and he spoke.

"You know better then any that humans aren't allowed in the mountain," He looked me up and down, "No matter what you are using them for."

"For your information, Darrien Shan is not a human." There was a gasp and then whispers, "She is a half-vampire, my assistant and my partner." The whisper became more like random comments being shouted.

"She isn't old enough!" A vampire in dark green robes shouted and there nods from people who agreed.

"But she is a woman!" Another shouted.

"You have destroyed her chance at life with a family of her own!" There were more shouts in agreement.

"Do the Princes know of her?" Silence fell.

Larten had explained about the Princes and how he would have to go on trial, but worst of all, he had explained how he might not make it out alive. He said that he was not afraid of death, but he worried about what would happen to me and how I would be raised if I wasn't to join him in deaths sweet embrace. It had been a lot of information to process and I was still trying to get my head around it, but my thoughts were broken when Artem's booming voice filled the hall.

"Enough! Larten Crepsley is a respected vampire and would not turn this young girl unless he had good reason to and you all know that." He looked down and whispered to Crepsley, "You do have a good reason right?"

"Well… I would not say it was not an unacceptable reason." Mr Crepsley said.

Artem just rolled his eyes, "Now the rest of you were busy before this trio entered the mountain so return to your activities." Artem's voice struck fear into my soul and I had to fight with myself not to find something to do so I didn't look out of place.

"Thank you Artem, you are a true friend." Larten shook the giant's hand once more.

"I just hope you have good grounds for committing such a crime," Artem looked at me again, "It's nothing against you young miss, but we have these laws for a reason. You do know what you've given up, don't you?"

"Yes," I hung my head, "I've always wanted children, but I did it to save my friends life."

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, "A true vampire will put the safety of the clan before themselves and you have proven it to me that you are willing to make that sacrifice. To me, Darrien Shan, you are considered a friend no matter what others may say and they will talk about you."

Artem hugged me and picked me off of the floor; he didn't crush me, just squeeze me a bit. When he put me back on the ground I had to quickly wipe away a tear before I looked weak in front of the entire vampire population. Suddenly Mr Crepsley looked upset and I asked him what was wrong.

"I must now go and tell the Princes Mr Tiny's message," He hugged me and gave me a quick kiss, "I will miss you Darrien."

"And I'll miss you, please don't get killed; I didn't even handle my own death very well." I forced a small laugh and Crepsley smiled.

"Please take care of Darrien for me Artem; I may be gone for a few days."

"I will guard her with my life Larten. May the luck of the vampire gods be with you." Artem held his hand to his head with his fingers in funny places; Mr Crepsley returned to gesture then turned away and walked to the other side of the room.

My heart was telling me to run after him, but my legs were too scared to move; why did he have to leave me in this strange place with these strange people? At least at the Cirque you knew you were among nice people (except the wolfman), but here you were in a mountain with a bunch a vampires. Male vampires.

"Well Darrien, I see you have eaten," Artem looked at the now four empty bowls, "Do you wish to see your sleeping quarters?"

I didn't reply straight way, for a long time I just watched as Mr Crepsley left at the other end of the room. When he was finally gone I scanned the room; there were a lot of vampires who insisted on staring at me while others must have decided that it was none of their business or they'd find out soon enough. I turned to looked at Artem and nodded, but tears started falling before I could stop them; so much for not looking weak.

"He's the only person I've got and their gonna kill him." I cried and flung my arms around the burly Russian.

To my surprise he hugged me back and slowly led me through the winding halls and narrow passages to my sleeping quarter. Artem explained that I will be sharing with Crepsley and he could get another coffin put in the room, but I declined and said that we usually shared. The room was simple; even simpler than mine and Evra's tent back at the Cirque. I walked around the room, looked inside the coffin and finally found myself standing back in front of Artem who was staring down at me with concerned eyes.

"What if I took you to see Arra Sails? She is one of the only other female vampire's that we know of who is still alive, maybe she will be able to talk to you." Artem suggested.

"Is she nice?" I asked.

"To us men? No, but she might be different towards you. Arra may be hard on the outside, but I bet there is a caring woman underneath her scars." Artem chuckled, "Or at least I hope there's one."

A smile cracked across my face as we made our way to the training arena, Artem explained that this was practically where Arra lived and if I even needed her to check here first. There were many vampires hitting each other with sticks or very skilfully fighting with weapons such as swords and daggers. Mr Crepsley had told me that it was against vampire law to fight with anything like guns; vampires prided themselves in their hand to hand and sword fighting.

As we got closer to our destination I could hear loud yells and cries coming from one particular area; there was a large dug out section with planks of wood running across it like little bridges. On the board were two vampire, each with a long staff; I instantly realised what they were trying to do because it was just like a game me and Evra used to play. You would stand on the planks of wood and try and knock each other off with a large stick; the last one standing was the winner. The only difference was that there was at least a two meter drop and the vampires on those planks of wood looked like they meant business.

"The one on the right is Arra, she is as good as if not better than most of the male vampires here and she has never been beaten on the bars," Artem shifted on his feet, "She's beaten me three times and I respect her greatly even if she doesn't return the favour."

"What do you mean?" I watched as Arra sent the large male flying.

"It is very hard to earn her respect, there are only a few who have been granted it; Larten is one of them." Artem smiled, "Why don't you have a go?"

"At the bars? But I'm just a little girl and I only did things like this as a game; I won't stand a chance." I argued, "She'll destroy me."

Artem's laugh boomed in my ears, "Use your size to confuse her, being as small as you are you will have good balance and you will be quick on your feet."

"Okay, I'll try, but don't expect anything amazing." I grabbed the staff Artem was holding and marched up to the bars.

When people saw me coming some laughed while other looked concerned, but all of them got out of my way. I climbed up onto the wooden beams and tested my balance; I wasn't too bad. When I looked up I saw Arra with a hand on her hip while she used the other hand holding the staff to point at me.

"Is this a sick joke? You're going to make me fight a child and a human no less; who let her in here?" Arra's voice was strong and loud, but no one answered.

"I'm not a human and it's not a joke." I replied.

"But you are a child and a female; who has done this to you?" I saw the pain shoot across her face, but it disappeared quickly.

"How about you kick my ass first and we can talk later."

Arra burst out laughing, "At least she knows what's going to happen, alright then, let's fight."

By now a small crowd had gathered, Artem among them. I was cautious to watch where Arra was while I quickly took in my surrounding. This set up was almost exactly the same as how Evra and I had it, only there were a few more beams I could work with and a bigger drop. I didn't plan on winning, but I did plan on making it look good. Jumping across all the beams, I tested how strong they were and how much they bounced when I landed on them; I decided that I could move quickly without falling.

"Stop playing around and attack me!" Arra shouted.

"I've never done this before, I just want to know what my surroundings are like and you could have attacked me at any point." I hollered back, my comment got me a few cheers, but I ignored them.

If she wanted me to attack her then so be it; I jumped onto the same plank as Arra and began racing towards her. I watched as she immediately braced herself for any impact and like Artem said; my size had made her think that this was going to be easy. Just before I had made it to her, I pushed my staff into the plank and used it to propel myself over Arra and before she could turn around I sent the pole crashing into the middle of her back.

Arra stumbled, but didn't fall down and she quickly turned around with a scowl on her face, "You have fooled me once, but not again."

She came swinging at me, any of her attempts would have knocked me clean off of the beams if any of them had connected with me; I made sure I was just out of reach at all times. Thinking I saw a chance to attack I took it only to have Arra's staff smash into my ribs; I lost my footing and went tumbling. Before I could think I reached out and grabbed the bottom of the plank, stopping myself from falling. I used the momentum from the fall to swing to the next plank and the next before climbing back up and grabbing my staff which I had caught with my feet.

I silently thanked all those days when I had nothing to do o Evra and I would play on the acrobatic equipment; making up games like 'the floor is lava' or 'monkeys in the jungle'. Before I could finish my thanks I had to quickly duck before Arra's staff connected with my head. As I ducked I managed to roll along the plank without fall off and I jumped to my feet. I could see that Arra was getting annoyed and warn out where as I wasn't even out of breath, even if my ribs felt like they were on fire.

Our game continued for a long time; me getting a few good shot in while Arra got a lot of good shots in, but I was mostly dodging them now that I noticed her pattern. By now a large crowd had gathered and they were making a lot of noise, but I blocked it out; I was getting tired and I was only just landing on the beams when I jumped. Arra saw me stumble and took her chance; I left her staff land on my lower back sending me flying. I managed to catch a beam, but I had dropped my staff and just as I stood up and turned around Arra swung again taking out my legs; I landed flat on my back.

"I've got you now." Arra smiled wickedly and pointed her staff at me.

Instead of replying I grabbed her staff tight and rolled off of the beam dragging Arra with me so that we were both hanging onto the staff as it lay across one of the beams. I watched as Arra stared at me with amazement as I let go of the staff and grabbed onto the neighbouring plank; luckily Arra's instincts took over and she to grabbed onto a beam. If she had not grabbed onto the beam Arra would have fallen and lost, but almost isn't good enough. Before I had time to create another cunning plan there was a fiery pain in my arm then another in my face and I could taste blood. I looked up and watched as the end of Arra's staff collided with my chest causing me to fall; this time I didn't reach out, instead I just let myself fall.

I didn't feel myself hit the floor and for that I'm grateful because somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the snapping of my arm breaking, but luckily I had already passed out.

I awoke a few hours later with a strange feeling; I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times until I came to a very scary conclusion.

"I'm blind!" I croaked as I started to freak out; it was only when I felt the silk beneath my fingers did I realise that I was in a coffin with the lid shut.

Feeling extremely embarrassed and extremely sore, I carefully opened the coffin. I was momentarily blinded by the sudden light, but my eyes soon adjusted and at the other end of my room sat Artem and Arra Sails. Once they saw me, both vampires ran to my side to help me out of the coffin. My legs wobbled for a bit, but they felt like they would hold; it was only when I started walking did I realised that my arm and a few ribs were broken.

"You fight well," Artem said as he helped me to a chair, "Most would not have lasted as long as you did."

"So why did I last so long, it was only my first time?" I asked when I sat down.

"I underestimated you; you are quite quick and very athletic for a scrawny half-vampire." Arra emphasized the word 'half' as if it were a curse. "You will need to drink some blood so that your bones can heal faster, I will get you some." Arra got up and left me and Artem.

"Why does she seem angry with me?" I asked after Arra was gone, noticing the dirty looks Arra had given me.

"She is annoyed at herself for letting her guard down, but she is angry with Larten for turning one as young as you and for mating with you." Artem said.

I almost swallowed my own tongue, my eyes bulged and I suddenly felt very nervous, "What does my personal life have to do with anything?" I finally asked.

"Quite a few years back, Larten and Arra were mates, but they stopped seeing each other. You see, vampires will sometimes pick someone to mate with and they will stay with that vampire for a certain amount of years, at the end of that timeframe they will either continue being mates or break it off; Larten and Arra chose to break it off." Artem explained.

"It must have been hard for Arra to hear those things." I felt bad for her, "Does she still have feelings for Larten?"

"You must understand that they were together for a long time and feelings develop, but I don't think you will have anything to worry about; Arra knows you are with Larten and she won't try anything." Artem laughed, "Not that Larten would let her."

"What do you mean?" In the back of my head I told myself to stop asking so many questions.

"I saw the way he looked at you before he left, you mean something to him."

I felt my stomach do a small flip when I heard this, I knew I was more than some girl in the background; I meant something to someone. A smile found its way onto my face and I felt better about almost everything. Artem and I talked for a while about things in the outside world and how things had changed over time. I found out that Artem is a vampire general and didn't like to leave the mountain.

"I'm too out of touch with how things are these days," He had said, "I don't think I'd fit in anymore."

We discussed things such as my birthday in a few hours and how I would be turning eighteen; Artem said he had stopped celebrating birthdays when he was 105, he said it was getting too hard to blow out the candles on the cake. He told me about the Vampire Princes in more detail than Gavner or Larten had and I decided that Larten would most probably make it out alive.

We continued to talk until Arra got back with the blood I needed; she had said that it was human, but willingly given. Once I had drunk my fill I could feel my bones healing. Artem said that I should rest and let my body do what it had to; both Arra and Artem said their goodbyes. Arra even shook my hand and said that I had her respect and that she approved of Larten's choice in women.

I climbed back into the coffin and settled down; I closed my eyes and turned on my side ready to go to sleep when I noticed something that was off. For a while I couldn't think of what it could be; I was probably uncomfortable because of my broken bones and I would have a headache from my fall, but that wasn't it. Suddenly I realised what was bugging me so bad.

"Where are my clothes and why am I wearing these robes?"

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**(A/N)**

**I hope Arra seems believable and I know that I have created a new character, but like I have mentioned before, I will only be loosely following the Darren Shan Saga; using it as a guideline. Please review because it makes me write faster!**


	8. Flashback

**(A/N)**

**This is a quick flashback I wanted to do for a long time and I thought that maybe now was a good time seing as a lot of things are going to happen soon. I know it's different to the books; that's the point of Fanfiction... Right?**

**I hope you like it and I hope you review.**

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My hand hurt from writing and rewriting the same note over and over again; I had to make sure that it was absolutely perfect. I could resight it off by heart by now, but it didn't stop my tears from streaming down my face. I picked up the piece of paper and held it under the dim lamp on my desk. Sighing, I began to read the same message for the hundredth time.

"Dear Mum, Dad and Annie,

Please don't be upset, this wasn't your fault and believe me when I say that you couldn't have done anything to stop it from happening. I know, that over time you might think I was rash with my actions and I didn't fully understand the consequences, but I do.

I have lost more than anybody else, but it doesn't change the pain I've felt or the tears I've shed. I have suffered from death no more than anybody else, but that doesn't change the fact that someone I love is gone. I have thought about suicide no more than anybody else, but that doesn't change the fact that I have felt disgusted with my self for thinking about such a selfish act.

In light we stand alone, holding our heads high, but by the cover of darkness we search for someone to shelter us from the unknown. We need someone to cling to when danger rears its ugly head and threatens us with its mystery.

Although I have asked many questions during my life, I only have one before I go:

What lurks in the darkness that we fear so much?

I need to know what scares us into turning on the light when we enter a dark room or why we are too afraid to check under the bed in case something is waiting for us. This is the reason I must leave you and my life behind because I will only be able to find out what hides in the dark by being consumed by it.

You may think that my reasoning isn't good enough, but it's not your choice and it was barely mine so please don't judge me. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart and you were the last things I thought of before my end.

Sincerely Darrien Shan.

P.S

Please don't forget to feed my mouse, Dr. Squeak, I know you never really like him, but it doesn't mean he should starve. Thanks."

I finished reading my suicide note aloud, checking for spelling mistakes and making sure my writing was neat enough to read.

"Please don't forget to feed my mouse?" Mr Crepsley raised an eyebrow, "Everything was quite poetic up until then."

"When did you get here?" I spat as I wiped away fresh ears.

"I have been here for a while," Mr Crepsley sighed, "I know how hard this is for you, but it is the only way we will not have people looking for you or questioning your disappearance."

I put the note on my pillow and walked up to the red haired vampire who was sitting on my window sill and wiped away more tears.

"I hate you." I whispered.

"I know you do; are you ready?" He asked.

I looked around my room at all my comics, my homework, drawing equipment and every other one of my possessions before letting out a whimper and dropping to my knees. There was an arm around my shoulder as I cried into my hands. My stomach clenched with every particularly hard sob and soon I could feel myself rocking back and forth thinking about what I had to do.

"I don't wanna go, please don't make me leave," I pleaded, "I don't wanna die."

"You know that you are not really dying, you will get to live a happy life at the Cirque Du freak with me." Mr Crepsley said as he rubbed my shoulder.

"But I hate you and I hate the Cirque Du Freak, you're both the reason I'm in this mess. If we didn't go to that stupid freak show, Steve wouldn't have seen you and I wouldn't have seen your spider so none of this would have happened."

"But you did all of those things and now this is how it must be." Crepsley was slightly annoyed.

I suddenly stood and pushed Mr Crepsley away, "You can't make me leave, I could just stay here and you could forget about me." Although I was meant to sound convincing, but I just sounded like I was grasping at straws.

"Then what?" Crepsley sounded angry, "You attack your family out of hunger and end up in prison or taking your own life? I will not be responsible for you destroying your life like that."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you turned me into a half-vampire!" I whispered harshly; I didn't want to wake my parents to have them come into my room while I had a strange man with me.

We stood staring each other down and I had to admit, Larten Crepsley was the most intimidating person I have ever met, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His nostrils flared when he realised that I wasn't backing down and instead he grabbed his cloak and turned around.

I watched as Larten Crepsley climbed out of the window, "Fine, have it your way! I hope you kill you family and friends! Oh and by the way, if you do not drink blood within a month you will die anyway. Goodbye Darrien."

With this he closed my window and walked across the roof before disappearing into the darkness. The unknown. The overbearing sadness of being alone and...

"Mr Crepsley, wait!" I opened the window and climbed out.

As I was rushing my way through the narrow opening I slipped and fell, tumbling towards the edge of the roof. I managed to catch myself before I went over the edge and I quickly clambered back up to my window where I sat on the roof with my head resting on my knees. I was breathing heavily and crying quietly when a soft voice made me raise my head.

"Are you going to listen to me now?" Mr Crepsley asked and I nodded, "Then drink this."

He handed me a vial of clear liquid, I took it and drank it without even examining it. My skin felt weird, like pins and needles, but it didn't hurt. I was numb all over and my head was suddenly very heavy.

"This bedder not be a drug jus' so you c'n rape me." I slurred my words.

Larten chuckled seductively, "Even if it was, you could not do anything about it now."

My eyes widened and I tried to escape the vampire above me, but my limbs failed me and I only fell over, "Ples' dun rape me."

As Crepsley reached down to me I tried to knock his hand away, but my arms felt extremely heavy and I couldn't lift them. I watched dumbly as Mr Crepsley propped me back up and smiled evilly; my heart was beating so fast in my chest I thought it was going to break through my ribcage.

"I am not going to rape you Darrien; I am a monster, but not that kind of monster. Now please try and relax." He sat down next to me and gently caressed my cheek, "Everything is going to be okay."

I remember him shushing me and telling me that everything was going to be fine and that being a vampire wasn't that bad. I don't remember what happed after that because the darkness consumed me and when I awoke inside what I expected to be my coffin I realised that I had discovered the answer to my own question.

"What lurks in the darkness that we fear so much?" I thought to myself and after a while the answer came to me. "We're afraid of nothing. We're afraid that when we die there isn't anything, no heaven or hell; just the darkness. We don't look under the bed in fear of finding something, we're afraid that there won't be anything there when we look. We turn the light on when we enter a dark room because if there isn't a monster standing in the middle of the room then it means that there is only darkness that greets us."

I paused my thoughts to yawn; the air was stale and I felt that there wasn't much oxygen left. The coffin was quite comfy, but after a while it just felt like I was floating in a sea of blackness and I began to think deeply about life's big questions. I could be quite poetic, deep and meaningful when I wasn't wearing my social mask; something I hated doing in the first place.

I tested my limbs out, stretching and moving around as much as possible in the coffin as the poison slowly wore off. Once I had settled into my surroundings I just laid there staring up at the lid of the coffin; blinking until I realised that my eyes weren't going to adjust because there was no light. I was surrounded by the unforgiving darkness that humanity feared so much. The nothingness that waited on the other side of life. I was scared. Alone.

After what felt like days I heard a strange sound that sounded like a shovel going through dirt. I was being dug up! I wasn't dead! Crepsley didn't lie to me and the moment that lid to the coffin opened I couldn't be happier in my life to hug a strange old man.

"Darrien, what is the meaning of this?" Larten just stood there with his arms out and me holding onto his waist.

"I couldn't spend another minute in the darkness, thank you so much." I placed a quick kiss on his cheek and smiled wildly at him once I had let go.

"I am going to fill this in," He signalled to the hole, "You should go for a walk and work the stiffness out of your muscles."

"Okay." I smiled and walked away, but looked back when I heard Larten mumbling about having a stiffness he needed to work out.

I sauntered through the numerous tombstones; I had a habit of checking the dates on them, seeing how old they were and making up a short story as to how they died. On about the twentieth headstone I found one with a small stone carving of a baby angel; the writing said:

_Lily Baker_

_The most beautiful angel in Heaven._

_2001 - 2006_

Tears pricked my eyes; I didn't even know this young girl and I was ready to cry for her. I didn't make up a story for her, it wasn't fun anymore.

When I didn't want to walk any longer I sat on a headstone and watched as the vampire filled in the 6ft deep hole. He had removed his cloak and shirt so he didn't get dirt on them and it was only when I was watching him did I notice that he hadn't been wearing them when I had hugged him. I blushed as I continued to watch Crepsley shovelling dirt.

"He doesn't look that bad; I guess being a vampire has its perks after all." I smiled to myself.

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**(A/N)**

**I hope this was fun and gives you a little bakground on Darrien. I thought it would be better if she wasn't identical to Darren because she is a girl and the events in her life would affect her differently.**

**Review please!**


	9. Princes

**(A/N)**

**Guess who had a little surprise... I DO! The next chapter is up and readable; why, if you cast your eyes downward you will in fact see it! **

**To alysha813,  I know I that I said you would have to wait a few days, but my dad dropped my laptop off while I was out and now you have the next chapter.**

**Please review!**

* * *

Larten's heart hurt as he walked further and further away from Darrien; he wasn't sure how she was going to handle being trapped in a mountain for an unknown amount of time, but he was sure she'd adapt. The red haired vampire marched proudly though the corridors with his head held high, greeting the ones who waved to him. Unfortunately for Larten, word spread quickly about his mysterious message from Mr Tiny to the Princes and soon he had a small group of curious vampire trailing behind him.

The mountain had changed since the last time he was here; new paths had been built while others had been blocked off and deemed unsafe. There was only one room in which nothing, not even Mother Nature could harm and that was the Hall of Princes. It was built by the Little People under Mr Tiny's instructions as a gift to the Vampire Princes; nothing could penetrate the walls, though many had tried, all have failed. It was said that the only person who could bring the walls tumbling down was Mr Tiny himself. Larten has always felt that accepting the gift just meant that the vampire population would owe Mr Tiny and he wasn't the kind of man you wanted to be in debt with.

After a small outburst, the small group of vampires who had followed Larten through many of the mountains winding passages were now gone. Larten quickly brushed down his clothes and straightened his cloak before continuing towards the Princes.

The door to the Hall of Princes was guarded by two large and well built Vampire Generals, both holding a spear and a short sword in their belts. The Vampire Generals both said their hellos to Mr Crepsley before inquiring about his visit to the Princes; everyone needed a legitimate reason before they were allowed access to see the Princes.

"I am here to deliver a message from Mr Tiny," Larten spoke calmly, "I was told that the message was for their ears only, but once it has been received they may do as they wish with the information."

"Mr Tiny? What does that meddler want now?" The guard on the left asked.

"You could always let me in so I may tell the Princes and a meeting will most likely follow." Larten was getting impatient.

"Alright Crepsley, but you know the rules; no funny stuff." The guard on the right said as he moved aside and let Larten walk through the tall wooden doors.

There was one reason why Larten liked this part of the mountain; it didn't have the same stale air as the rest of the giant, cold rock that he would be living in for the next…

"Larten Crepsley, and what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you here?" Larten's thoughts were cut short by a familiar voice of Paris Skyle.

"I am afraid that I have come baring bad news Your Highness." Crepsley stooped down into a low bow before glancing on the other faces in the room.

Paris Skyle is the oldest vampire in history and it was showing; the old man looked weak and dark around the eyes, but there was still a hint of adventure in his step. To Paris's left sat Mika Ver Leth, a stern looking Vampire Prince known for his black dress sense and constant frown. On Paris's right was a hulk of a vampire; Arrow's wife was killed by Vampaneze and he himself has killed more than any other vampire. Larten always looked up to the Princes and even though he may question some of the things they say, he has learnt to keep quiet about his opinions.

"We haven't seen you in twelve years and when we finally are blessed with your company you tell us it is because of bad news?" Paris smiled despite his words. "This had better be the apocalypse Larten."

"I am afraid you are not that far off." Larten hung his head a bit.

"Well spit it out boy, if it's that important, what are you waiting for?" Arrow shouted as he stood from his chair.

"Mr Tiny had sent me with a message." Larten was holding off on telling them for as long as possible in hopes of avoiding the situation with Darrien for a bit longer.

"Mr Tiny hasn't spoken to us in years, why choose now to send a message when he invites himself in every other time?" Mika asked.

Larten lifted his head and spoke directly to the Princes in a calm and clear voice, "The Vampaneze Lord has been found."

"What?" Arrow almost lunged at Larten.

"Are you sure Larten? Could you have forgotten a part of the message?" Paris asked.

Mr Crepsley's eyes narrowed, "The message has burnt itself into my mind You Majesty; I regret to tell you that I have not forgotten anything."

"This is an outrage; we must find him and kill him as soon as possible!" Arrow was turning red with anger.

"Please Arrow, calm yourself." Paris laid a hand on the shoulder of his fellow Prince who slowly took his seat, "Now Larten, did Desmond have anything else to say?"

"His final words were, 'let the war begin', and that is all." Larten hung his head again as the Princes began to argue amongst themselves.

Although his expression remained calm, Larten's mind was racing, jumping from one subject to the next and tugging at his heart strings for the first time in a long time. It was a further ten minutes before Larten was addressed again which had given him time to mentally collect himself.

"Larten, is there something more that rests on your conscience?" The eldest Vampire Prince asked with concerned eyes.

Crepsley sighed, knowing that now was the best time to bring up the worst subject, "Yes Your Majesty, there is something that weighs me down terribly."

"Go on." Paris smiled warmly at the young vampire in front of him.

"I am sure that you have been informed of my actions," Larten sighed, "My illegal actions."

Paris's smile faded slightly, but he still held a calm tone, "There have been rumours, but we thought that they were just that; rumours. Are you telling us that you have in fact blooded a child?"

When Larten didn't answer Mika spoke instead, "Silence only means it's true, at least have to respect to say it allowed."

Larten's head snapped up and he glared at Mika, "Yes, I have blooded a child."

An eerie silence filled the Hall of Princes; Larten continued to stare at Mika, his body shaking with anger. How dare he question Larten's level of respect in front of the other Princes? The deafening silence was broken when Paris once again spoke; there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Larten Crepsley, you have broken one our most important laws, for this you will stand trial and the child you have blooded…" He paused and looked down on Crepsley with raised eyebrows.

"Her name is Darrien Shan." Larten said after the wordless question.

"You have blooded a female?" Paris asked, almost in shock.

"Yes." Larten didn't hang his head in shame for he would not change a thing, "Tomorrow will fall on her eighteenth birthday, and she has been my assistant and a half-vampire for close to three years."

"Then it is worse than I thought." Paris cleared his throat. "Larten Crepsley you will stand trial for breaking our laws and the child you have blooded, Darrien Shan, will be brought before the Princes to be questioned. I hope you have amazing luck Larten, because you're going to need it."

With this, Larten's case was dismissed and told that the date of the trial will be decided at a later time; first they needed to discuss the matter of the Vampaneze Lord. After being shown his seat, Larten sat with the Vampire Princes and for many hours he was questioned about what Mr Tiny had said and if there was any reason he might lie.

"What reason does Desmond Tiny have to lie when the truth will hurt us more?" Mika asked at one point.

After five hours of solid discussion and arguments, a break was declared and Larten was told to remain with the Princes; although a very frantic Artem was finally allowed to speak with him.

"Artem, what are you doing here? I thought I asked you to remain with Darrien." Larten asked when the tall Russian came to talk to him.

"You did and I have only left her momentarily with Arra." Artem said.

"Arra? Why is she with Arra? Artem, what's happened?" Larten's heart began beating hard in his chest.

Artem explained about Darrien's battle with Arra in great detail; constantly sharing his feelings at the time and straying from the story. Larten laughed more than once at the amazing story and Darrien's stupid bravery; at on point Artem could barely speak he was laughing so much, telling Crepsley about Darrien swinging around like a monkey.

"I blame Evra, that boy was fascinated with the high wire and acrobatics; I could not count the number of times I had to pull Darrien away from the performance tent to get her to do work." Larten smiled widely.

When it got to the part about Arra's anger and slight over kill with beating Darrien, Larten stopped smiling and began asking a lot of questions.

"Why did so not just knock her off?" Larten stood and paced a few times, "And you say that she has broken bones?"

"Yes, her left arm and I think about three ribs. She knew what she was getting into when she accepted the challenge; I didn't think Arra would be so hard on her, hell I didn't think Darrien would last that long!" Artem tried to explain.

"Is Darrien okay?" Crepsley turned to Artem at looked at him in the eyes, "You said you would protect her, is she okay?"

"When I left her Arra was changing her into some robes; her clothes were in tatters, I had to wrap her in my own robes to stop the men getting a good look at her." Artem said, "She has been unconscious for five hours and coming in and out of consciousness for a further two, but she is a strong fighter, I bet that by tomorrow she will want a rematch."

"She can be quite stubborn as well; you would not believe the fights I had with her about drinking human blood." Larten's smile returned, "So she will be fine?"

"Right as rain by sunset or sun rise; I can never tell in this place." Artem patted his old friend on the shoulder, "I better go back to your sleeping beauty and explain that her prince charming will be with her soon."

"If I ever get out of here, by the looks of things this questioning may go for another day or so, but tell her I will try and see her." Larten managed to keep his voice steady, even if all he wanted to do was to run up to Darrien and never leave.

Artem nodded and left Larten standing alone with a mixture of guilt and worry pushing down on his chest. Before long, the betrothed vampire was called forward again. Question after question was thrown his way, but now Larten could only answer them half heartedly; he was constantly having to ask for a question to be repeated for his mind was else where.

Many hours slowly stumbled by and it was only when Paris had to be shaken awake after falling asleep midsentence that the Vampire Princes called it a night and allowed Larten to leave, get some food and rest. Not having to be told twice, Crepsley was about to start his trek back to his sleeping quarters when a voice called him back. A very tired Paris Skyle hobbled over to the red haired vampire and asked one final question.

"This young girl, I take it from what Artem had said and the way you reacted, is it fair to say that you two are involved?" Paris's friendly smile returned to his wrinkled face.

"Yes Your Majesty, Darrien and I are together." Larten smiled back weakly.

"You might want to mention that to the jury when it comes to your trial."

"Pardon me asking, but why would I mention my personal attachment to Darrien when it does not play a part?" Larten asked.

"Because love conquers all and we are all hopeless romantics at heart." Paris winked and stumbled back over to the other Princes.

Confused, but slightly reassured, Larten Crepsley began to run through the passages that made up Vampire Mountain. He rushed past vampires who merely stood there staring at him with worried looks. Within moments he burst through the door to his sleeping quarters to find it seemingly empty; for a long time Larten just stood in the doorway looking at every corner of the room. He was about to leave and ask Artem which room Darrien was staying in when he hear and cry of pain followed by a rather rude curse word coming from the coffin in the middle of the room.

Quietly closing the door, Larten made his way over to the coffin; he could sense Darrien inside, something he had only just learnt recently that he could do. Leaning over, Mr Crepsley opened the lid to the coffin to find Darrien tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable inside the faintly larger, silk lined coffin. He tapped her on the right shoulder, making sure to avoid her broken bones and laughed as Darrien's eye opened and she jumped up to hug him only to fall back down hissing in pain.

"You will soon become annoyed with broken ribs, they make life difficult." Larten chuckled.

"I'm already annoyed with them." Darrien's nose turned up as she mouthed another curse word.

"Maybe you will think twice before challenging a full grown vampire to a fight in a sport they are the best at, hmm?" Crepsley laughed again when Darrien just poked her tongue out.

Larten removed his cloak and shirt and helped the young female out of the coffin.

"Take off your robes so I can see the damage." Larten instructed.

"Yeah, I bet you're only looking at damage." Darrien teased, but did as she was asked.

With a little help, Darrien removed her robes to reveal nothing underneath and she could see that Larten was surprised. Arra had used a cloth to get rid of most of the dirt, but now the bruises that stained her flesh were more prominent and have had time to come to the surface. Large patches of dark purple, blue and brown covered Darrien entire left side of her rib cage and Larten feared she had broken more than three ribs. There was a distinct line where Arra's staff had connected with Darrien fragile body with swelling and bruising surrounding it. Across he nose was a line where the butt of the staff had broken it and spilt the skin on the bridge of her nose, luckily Artem had corrected it and said it would heal straight.

Darrien's arm was swollen and darkly bruised, but looked like it was a clean break and with the help of her vampire strength and if she continued to drink human blood, she would be completely healed in a week. She was such a strong girl, one with a sparkle in her eyes that distracted Larten from his thoughts. But Larten knew that even though the young girl in front of him wore a smile, inside she was screaming in pain.

Crepsley licked his thumb and ran it across the cut on her nose to heal it, "You are a silly girl going off and doing this." Darrien went to argue, but Larten raised his hand and she fell silent. "It was unnecessary and careless, but I know that you already know that and I do not feel like giving you a lecture at the moment so I think it is time for bed."

Darrien smiled and allowed Larten to help her put back on her robes and get back into the coffin. The older vampire climbed in after her and was careful not to knock her broken bones or bruised skin; so when Darrien was the one to pull him closer, Larten tried not to object. Deep down inside, Larten knew that Darrien was in extreme pain, but he also knew that she would still be in that pain if he wasn't here and it was best that he was here so he was able to watch over her.

"Larten?" Darrien whispered, trying to mask her pain, "I love you."

Without a moments hesitation Larten Crepsley replied, "I love you too."

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**(A/N)**

**I know it's a bit short, but you know what that means... the next one will be longer, probably in both ways; length and time it takes for it to be available. These facts are sad, but true, but that doesn't stop you from reviewing and favouriting and all that other nice stuff you can do like sending cookies... Fanfiction should make a cookies option...**


	10. Birthday Memories

**(A/N)**

**I have decided that I would bring this chapter to you all early, but that does mean that it isn't as long as I was going to make it. I was aiming for the six thousand word mark, but this is good too.**

**As usual it is aslways fun for you to read AND review so please keep that in mind at the end of the chatper; I don't even care if you reviewed the last chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

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I woke with the sense of forgetting something extremely important. Larten was still asleep and hadn't heard me wake up; which I thought was really lucky because I imagine he slept uneasily due to my constant tossing and turning. I looked across at him, his eyes were barely shut and he wore a concerned expression on his face; even while he rested, Larten could be worried about something. Instead of waking Crepsley or getting out of the coffin I tried to figure out what was hiding in my mind.

"Today was important for a reason, but why?" I quietly asked myself, but that slight noise had woken the sleeping vampire next to me.

"Today is important because it is your birthday," Larten's voice was gravely and low, "Happy birthday Darrien."

My eyes went wide and a big cheesy grin spread across my face; ignoring the pain in my entire body I jumped out of the coffin and tumbled across the floor as I slipped. Luckily my bones were already started to heal and it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but I still hissed with pain. Quickly standing and racing over to my bag, I began tearing through it and finding some clothes before running out of the room. I could hear Mr Crepsley yelling behind me about wrapping my robe around my body a bit better, but I kept running until I found the room I was searching for.

The waterfall was roaring and I could already tell it was going to be cold just from the temperature of the room and by the cool droplets of water that splashed on my face as I got closer. I dumped my clean clothes in a corner of the room so they wouldn't get wet then quickly removed my robes and practically dove into the freezing cold water. I think if it wasn't for the fact that I was a half-vampire, I would have gone into a state of hypothermia, but I held onto my senses.

Not seeing the point of buying shampoo, Crepsley had only bought soap and that was only after I had told him that as a female I didn't wish to smell like sweaty, stale, old, male vampire for my entire stay. Using the bar of soap that I had brought with me, I washed faster than I ever had in my whole life. My hair felt like straw wrapped in grease, but that changed the second I soaped it up and rinsed it out; clean at last. Without wasting any time I jumped out of the waterfall and dried myself with one of the towels provided; just as I was walking over to my clothes I saw someone enter the room.

Red cloak and orange hair "Must be Crepsley." I thought to myself.

Just as I suspected the vampire who had entered to room was in fact Larten Crepsley, only he looked more like a lost puppy. When he finally spotted me he ran over to me and stared to rant in a rather our of breath voice.

"Darrien Shan, explain yourself!" He started, "I have been up and down nearly every single hall in this ungodly mountain trying to find where you had raced off to!"

I was only gone fifteen minutes, where was the problem? I didn't say anything because I knew he wasn't finished so instead I just continued to get dressed and let him get out whatever it was he thought he had to talk about.

"I did not know where you had gone nor did I know why you decided that it was a good idea to run half naked through a mountain filled with male vampires who could have easily taken advantage of you." That wasn't what I expected and I looked up to see the worry in his eyes, "I thought you were going to leave me." Crepsley hung his head.

I stood, now fully dressed with my Dracula jacket, I wrapped my arms around his neck and let Larten rest his head on my shoulder. We didn't move for a little while; I let him realise that I wasn't going anywhere.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." I forced Crepsley to look at my eyes, "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"It's my birthday!" The smile spread back across my face and I slammed out lips together.

The kiss was passionate and I didn't plan on stopping it anytime soon, but a small and purposeful cough interrupted out moment of happiness. I looked up and peered around Crepsley to see an elderly man smiling deviously; he was dressed in all red like Crepsley and had kind eyes.

"Larten, it is good to see you again." The elderly man said.

Crepsley slowly turned around, "Seba Nile, is that you?" He walked up to the elderly vampire and smiled before giving him a hug.

"It is not like you to show so much emotion," Seba laughed, "You used to give Mika a run for his money with death glares."

"I have changed over the years," Larten continued to smile and any worry he had before now dripped away.

"How about we move into another hall so we do not have to yell at each other over the waterfall?" Seba suggested and I followed the two vampires into another hall.

We ended up going to get something to eat and once we had our food and were settled into our seats, the conversation began again.

"I can see that you have a young girl with you Larten, have the years changed your manners as well?" Seba asked cheekily.

"This is Darrien Shan; I assume that you have already heard about her from the Princes." Larten's head dropped a bit.

"I have always told you not to assume, but yes; you were not the only one they questioned on the matter." Seba began to eat the meaty broth in front of him.

"They questioned you about me, but why?" I asked, although I felt I should have asked permission first from the look Crepsley gave me.

"I take it you know nothing about me young miss," I shook my head, "My name is Seba Nile, I was once Larten Crepsley's mentor."

I giggled and looked at Crepsley who seemed to have started to blush.

"Did you teach him to talk that way? I mean, I noticed you have the same speech pattern." I asked.

"You would be correct, one day Larten asked if I could teach him to speak the same way I do," He leaned in closer and I followed suit, "Every time he said words like 'can't' or 'don't' I would pluck a hair from his nose."

"So that's why you don't like me touching you nose!" I laughed and Seba laughed too.

"It was not a pleasant experience believe me," Larten rubbed his nose, "I am probably traumatised."

"No more than the people who spend large amounts of time with you." Seba laughed, "Speaking of, how are you dealing with this grumpy old vampire? He is not giving you a hard time about anything is he?"

I laughed, "No, he's fine. He can even be nice at times; when he wants to be that is."

We continued to talk for another hour before Seba explained that he had to get back to his job as quartermaster, "I have a young boy that needs training up, we don't want people starving or the rations running out to quick."

With this the vampire left Crepsley and I to our own devices. I finished off my third bowl of broth although Larten was still playing with his first. We didn't talk for a while; I was too distracted with everyone else's conversations. A few vampires to our left were talking about the fight that me and Arra were in; they seemed to be extremely interested in me which made me slightly uncomfortable. A couple a vampires to my right were chatting about their adventures before they came to Vampire Mountain; the larger of the two had lost his hand to a crocodile while in Egypt, but apparently had got his own back.

I imagined that nearly all the vampires here had more than a few war stories up their sleeves and the scars to prove it. There was one scar that interested me quite a bit and it was located on Mr Crepsley's face; I had asked him about it once, but all he said was that he forgot. How do you forget getting a scar that big? I wasn't going to push it, no matter how badly I wanted to know the answer.

Sitting still in my seat soon became impossible and I kept shifting to get a better look at everything. I continued to wear a stupid grin as I played with the drawstrings on my jacket; sometimes I would put the end of one in my mouth before quickly realising that it doesn't taste any better since the last four times I did it. My stomach kept doing small flips every now and then as if it was expecting someone to jump out at me.

"What on Earth is in your pants that are keeping you from sitting still?" Crepsley finally asked after ten minutes of me fidgeting.

"It's my birthday." I said simply, not completely making eye contact.

"Yes, I am aware of this, but I have had many birthdays and I do not remember ever acting like you are now." I could tell he was annoyed at something.

"I know that, but it's my eighteenth birthday and that's important, plus mum said that I could have a…" Suddenly the feeling in my stomach made sense.

I was feeling anticipation because before I was blooded my mum had said that turning eighteen was a big deal and that she was going to throw me a huge party. For a few hours I had completely forgotten that my family and friends thought that I was dead; for a split second I hoped that mum would barge into the hall filled with vampires and announce that it was time to open presents and cut the cake. Almost three years of being a half-vampire and travelling with the Cirque Du Freak melted away and my body acted like they had never happened; I was convinced that dad would walk in and give me a hug followed by a bad joke.

All my movements stopped, my arms dropped to my sides and I stared off into space; I had done this a month after being blooded, but not since. I suddenly felt like a small child who had lost their mum at the shopping centre and was screaming for her at the top of my lungs. In real life I had become oblivious to the world and the only thing that was being processed by my mind was all my childhood memories on repeat.

"Darrien, are you okay?" Crepsley asked as he waved a hand in front of my face.

"She thinks I'm dead," There was a stabbing pain in my chest; "My own mother thinks I'm dead and yet I'm not."

I know Larten had no idea what to say or do; by now Evra would have had the better box out and surrounded me with presents from the Cirque Du Freak members. Unfortunately, Crepsley had learnt to hide his feeling for a long time and so he probably didn't understand what I was going through at the moment. Finally building up enough energy to move, I turned to Crepsley with tears threatening to spill; once I saw that look on his face all my problems melted away. For the time being anyways.

There he sat with his eyebrows knitted together, eyes wide and a slight pout; Larten Crepsley was pulling a puppy dog face and it had worked like a charm. How could I stay upset when his face made me want to burst out with laughter?

"I'll be fine." I said grabbing his face and gently kissing his pouty lips, "I just need some time to think."

As I stood up, I was reminded of all my broken bones and how much they hated me for my earlier circus act; my entire body was racked with pain as I hobbled back to my sleeping quarters. On my way back I got many weird looks, I guess people still hadn't gotten their head around me being here and I wasn't sure I had either. Once I walked through the door the coffin practically begged we to sleep in it and I wasn't going to deny it, I was finally able to rest my head.

I climbed into the coffin and had closed my eyes, but my thoughts kept returning to my family and friends and how I wouldn't be able to ever talk to them again. Pushing the painful memories back into the depths of my subconscious from whence they came, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Sleep took hold nearly immediately, but apparently the Vampire Gods were still playing with me because I was only asleep for less than an hour before I was interrupted.

"Darrien," Artem came waltzing in to my room, "I forgot to tell you happy birthday."

"Umm, thank you, but how did you know it was my birthday?" I didn't remember telling Artem about my birthday, but I probably mentioned it in passing conversation.

"I heard you tell Larten just before you left," He started to rummage through the pocket in his robe, "Here."

He handed me a small box with a blue ribbon around it; I gave him a sceptical look, but opened it anyways. Inside the small box was a vile of red liquid that I suspected was blood. I picked it up and examined it intensely.

"Umm, thanks, but I'm not thirsty."

Artem laughed deeply, "You don't drink it, well I guess you could, but I don't think that Vlad Drăculea intended it to be drunk, just passed on."

I was in absolute shock, "Are you telling me that this vial contains blood from the Dracula and you're just giving it to me?" My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my skull.

"Vlad was an old family friend and when he died he was drained of his blood; some of it was bottled to be passed down our family line," He smiled broadly, "That vial is one of the last ones left."

"I couldn't accept this; I'm not even in your family line." I put the vial back in the box and tried to hand it back, but Artem pushed my hand away.

"You may not be apart of my direct family line, but you are now apart of the vampire community," He placed a hand on my shoulder, "You will do great things Miss Shan."

Artem left me with the box in my hand and a dumb look on my face; I couldn't believe what had just happened. Did it really happen? Of course it did, I've got the vial to prove it, but I couldn't help but feel like I was still dreaming. I decided to go and tell Crepsley about Artem's strange gift, but the second I went out the door I was greeted a group of vampire. There were five of them and they all looked about forty, but were probably over a hundred. Each of them introduced themselves and wished me a happy birthday before piling gifts into my arms.

All of the presents looked store bought, but when I asked how they got them or how they knew it was my birthday the vampire with short black hair and was missing an ear stepped forward.

"Larten told us it was your birthday and as for the presents, there are about seven vampires in the mountain called 'messengers' and they're allowed to flit backward and forward to the mountain whenever they need to." He smiled and opened the present he had given me.

I watched closely as he pulled out a pair of earrings, because my hands were full he took out my cheap old earrings and put the new ones in for me. They felt kind of heavy, but only to the extent that I knew they were there, not to the point where I thought my ears were going to drop off.

"They're so beautiful." I said as I smiled at the vampire before me.

"They are partnership earrings, once you find a partner you are meant to give them one of the earrings and as long as you both are wearing them nothing can harm you." He explained.

After juggling the boxes around for a bit I was able to shake each vampires hand as I said thanks for the presents and they said their goodbyes. As I walked along I reached up and played with one of the earrings; they were long with two small feathers on each, a couple of silver beads and what looked like bits of carved bones.

As I continued my search for Mr Crepsley it seemed that every vampire I came across had a gift for me and the ones who didn't still acknowledged that it was my birthday. It was only when one of my gifts was a bear skin bag that I was able to put all the other presents in a safe place instead of trying to balance them in my arms. I was really happy that I was receiving all this attention and all these gifts, but I still felt like there was something wrong with the whole situation.

I had already made four trips back to my sleeping quarters to drop off armfuls of stuff; I have never said think you so many times in my life. Now I finally was able to pick up my pace and I hoped that the only vampire I would run into would have orange hair and wear a red cloak. The dining hall was the last place I had to check, but as I was making my way there I noticed something very odd.

"Where did everybody go?" I said out loud.

A moment ago the walkway was jam packed with vampires wishing me well on my birthday, but now it was deserted; where could they all have gone? Somewhere deep in my gut I knew that things weren't right, that at some point a serial murderer would jump out and hack me to pieces. Instead of worrying too much about the murderer, I pushed forward and quickly came to a halt when I was shouted at.

"Surprise!" There was a mixture of about three hundred voices followed by party poppers and cheering.

"What the f…"

"Darrien; language please." Through the crown came a very familiar face and for the first time in a long time Larten Crepsley was smiling like he had forgotten how to be sad.

I was suddenly surrounded by many vampires who were lifting me above their heads and moving me to a table in the middle of the room. Once I was place back down and put in a chair a cake was placed in front of me and the whole room started to sing happy birthday. There were no candles to blow out so when the song ended there was an awkward silence that fell through the room; I slowly stood and turned to look at Crepsley.

"Did you do all of this?" I didn't show any emotion in my words or with my face.

"I know it is not much, but you seemed so upset about not having a birthday and…"

His words were cut short by my lips crashing into his as the room erupted into cheers of joy and somewhere in the background folk music began to play and everyone started dancing. From the ages eighteen up until over seven hundred; everyone seemed to be having fun and I had Crepsley to thank for it.

After more cake was brought in and a special meal was prepared courtesy of Seba Nile, the dancing became the only thing anyone wanted to do. When I asked why everyone was enjoying my eighteenth birthday so much, Artem explained it was because they saw it as an omen.

"You are the youngest vampire in history and you are female, they take it as a sign of change and things to come; whether the change is good or bad we don't know. All we know is that tonight is about celebration for a very special girl.

Artem's accent and deep voice made everything have a sense of importance to it; I decided that the change was good, mostly because I didn't want anything bad happening to the people who had been so nice to me. As I sat back and slowly ate my cake I was approached by someone I was yet to talk to all night.

"Darrien Shan, happy birthday."

"Thank you Arra," I smiled, "Having fun?"

"I don't do parties, but I was talked into it." She cast her gaze of to Larten momentarily before turning back to me, "You were quite good on the bars yesterday, I bet with a little bit of training you could even become a decent fighter.

"Thank you, it means a lot coming from you; you're such an amazing fighter, better than any male I've seen." Arra's expression didn't change, but I saw a glimmer in her eyes.

"I didn't want to give you anything useless like jewelry, so I decided that these were better." Arra pulled out two short swords that were a bit longer than a dagger from her belt, "They were mine when I was first turned; they were given to me as a present from my mentor and were great as a first weapon."

"I couldn't accept these, they're too important to you." I insisted.

"They will serve you well once you learn how to use them." Arra forced me to stand then took off her belt and wrapped it around me before putting the short swords back into their sheaths.

"Thank you again and I promise to learn how to use them." I said as Arra walked off.

Once again I sat back down to finish my cake and think about all the great things that were happening, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

"With all the good you are receiving, there will be great evil that follows." A voice in the back of my mind told me.

I shook it off and stood when I saw Mr Crepsley walk over to me, he gave me a kiss then asked me to follow him.

"I hope that this celebration is sufficient enough for you." Larten asked as we walked to the far end of the room so that we didn't need to yell over the party.

"It's amazing, how did you do it in such a short time?" I questioned.

"As you already know, I am a highly respected vampire and I have never asked for any favors from my fellow vampires," He stopped walking and looked into my eyes, "When I saw the look on your face and heard the sadness your voice, I knew then that I had to do something to cheer you up."

"You did all this for me just because I was sad?" My eyes started to tear.

"I agreed to be your partner Darrien and with that I also agreed to the responsibility that comes with caring for you. You may not have noticed, but I have very strong feelings for you Miss Shan." And there was that smile again, the one that made the world around me disappear.

Smiling back, I took out one of the earrings I had received as a present and gave it to Crepsley. "It's a partnership earring, it was one of my presents and I couldn't wish to give it to a better person."

I watched as he fiddled with the earring for a moment before pulling a funny face then lowering his arms; I noticed his ear was suddenly red and a bit swollen.

"Your ears weren't pierced beforehand, were they?" I asked.

"They were supposed to be?" Larten tilted his head with a confused look on his face.

"I guess not."

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**(A/N)**

**As I said before I know that it's not as long as I intended it to be, but I hope I made up with it for writing an awesome chapter anyways! Please write me something, it doesn't even have to be relevant, I just like recieving messages, but it is always nice to get a review ^.^**


	11. The Darkness

**(A/N)**

**Guess who's back? **

**No amount of excuses or apologies could make up for the large time that has passed since my last chapter, but I hope that by actually posting one it will be okay.**

**I've had so much to deal with in the last few months... two marriges, school finishing, starting a new job, several hundred arguements and my nan going in and out of hospital... But I had to do this, if not to keep my mind occupied, but for you loving fans.**

**Please R&R and of course, enjoy!**

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Not only was the party a great success, but it carried on for two days and I had a feeling that most of vampires had forgotten why they were celebrating in the first place. It didn't bug me too bad because everyone seemed to be having fun, even though most of the fun was because of the amount of alcohol that was consumed. Vampires could drink crazy amounts of alcohol and not get drunk, but the level of beer, bourbon, vodka and anything else they could get their hands on was still phenomenal. Larten and I had long since left the party to attend to our own devices; hours and hours of our own devices.

On the second day when the party was finally called to a halt and everyone was made to go back to their daily chores and activities, at that point in time was when I decided to leave my sleeping quarters. Not only was I spending time with Larten, but I was also scared of what would happen to a young, female, half-vampire in a crowded room of drunken, male, full grown vampires; it just wasn't something I wanted to think about. Crepsley had demonstrated a few things that they might do to me if they were alone with me too long and I decided that I should be alone with Mr Crepsley more often.

Once the party was over and the mountain was cleaned up, I wandered around for a little while. There were few passed out people in the corridors, but it was practically deserted by the time I got to the training arena; except for one vampire. Arra was on the bars jumping back and forth, flipping from one plank of wood to the next and swinging her staff at an imaginary enemy. She was quite the athlete and could easily give the larger vampires a run for their money.

I was still in shock since my first encounter with her, Artem had explained that I was one of the very few people who had lasted longer the five minutes; one of the others was Crepsley. Maybe I was lucky; being small and quick on my feet really came in handy, but I still feel it was mostly luck.

"Darrien was there something you wanted or are you just going to stand there and stare?" Arra's voice broke my train of thought and I fought with myself to come up with the answer and reason I was there in the first place.

After taking a breath to calm myself I grabbed the two short swords Arra had given me out of my belt, "I tried to learn, I really did, but Larten doesn't use this kind of weapon and couldn't help me."

"I take it that you want my help then?" Arra stepped off the bars and grabbed one of the swords.

"I would really appreciate it." I said as I watched Arra swing the blade a few times. "I promise I'll be a good learner and I'll do just what you say and I'll try really hard and…" Arra raised her hand and silenced me.

"Alright, but you must listen." Arra's voice was harsh, but quickly became more instructive.

She forced me to hold the handle in my left hand first, "But I'm right handed."

"When fighting in a heated battle you may loose your preferred hand so it is better to learn with both." Just to help me she too held the short sword in her left. "These particular swords are 1832 foot artillery short swords, one is good if your main weapon has been knocked away, but two are lethal once you learn to use them in unison."

The first lesson was about the different ways to use the swords, we didn't jump straight into hitting each other with them and for that I was grateful; I'd rather loose an arm in real battle and not training. I watched intently as Arra showed me the different ways you could hold the sword depending on what situation you were in and how to knock the sword out of your opponents hand without much force. After three hours of calm training Arra said it was time to break and seek her out tomorrow when I felt ready to start again.

"You are a fast learner and you will get it once you start concentrating; soon you won't have to think and your body will just act on instinct." Arra explained.

Arra was an okay teacher, but she didn't seem to like me much; our training was strictly just that. Training. There was no friendly chatting in between or even a joke thrown into the mix; she was just doing what was asked of her. Her voice showed no emotion and when it did it sounded sad; in the back of my mind I knew it was my fault, because I was with Crepsley and she wasn't. I felt kind of bad that I knew me and Arra would never really be friends, I might consider her one, but she would only see me as the half-vampire sleeping with her ex; so I could see where the problem laid.

The mountain had come alive in my absence, everyone was chatting about the last couple of nights and the crazy things others had done. I headed straight to get some food, but I felt someone behind me; spinning around I came face to face with Larten's old mentor.

"Good evening Miss Shan." Seba Niles smiled broadly, "Your hearing is quite accurate, just like young Larten's was; I hope you do not cause him as much grief as he caused me?"

"I wouldn't dream of getting on his bad side," I walked alongside Seba, "Only the vampire gods would see me after that."

"He does have a temper on him." Seba sat down and poured himself a bowl of broth, "Please join me."

I sat on the opposite side of the table so that I could face the elderly vampire, "Was there something in particular that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked as nicely as possible, I mean he had been following me.

"Am I not allowed to speak to a beautiful woman when I get the chance?" Seba chuckled as I blushed, but suddenly his face became serious, "But there was something I felt was necessary to speak to you about."

I watched him intently; with every movement he made the scars and wrinkles on his face would come alive. Seba's eyes showed great wisdom and although he looked about ninty something, they also showed his true age.

"There has been a lot of talk through the mountain about what will happen to you if worse comes to worse and Larten is not successful in his trial," Seba paused to take a mouthful of food, "Before I make my proposal, I wish to hear what you wanted to do if this was in fact the situation."

For a long time I just ran what Seba had said through my head so I could better understand it, but I knew in my heart what I would do if worse did come to worse. When I had sacrificed my family for a friend another family took me in without question and I felt I owed them something for that.

"I guess I would go back to the Cirque Du Freak and try and make it on my own; I know half-vampires don't last long by themselves, but I'm sure Mr Tall would look after me." I said before shoveling broth down my throat.

"Mr Tall is a kind and caring man who would do a wonderful job of supporting you, but wouldn't you wish to be among your own kind?" The wrinkled vampire asked.

"It's not like I'd completely cut myself off from the clan, I just feel like I'd be able to do more there." I explained. "You know, give something back."

"I see," Seba smiled like my grandfather used to, "How would you feel about being my assistant if things did go bad?"

I wasn't going to be rude, but I wasn't going to lie either, "I don't think I could have another mentor, I would feel like I have betrayed Mr Crepsley in some way. It's not that I don't think you'd be an amazing mentor, it's just that Larten and the Cirque are my family; without one I would instinctually turn to the other." I explained.

"You have a good sense of family values; you will make a fine vampire even without my help." Seba smiled again before standing, "Well that was all I wished to ask of you and I do not wish to press the matter, but if you do change your mind I am sure you will find me. Have a nice night tonight Miss Shan."

"You too Seba." I waved as he left, but I couldn't help but feel like I had brushed him off without giving his idea any thought.

Unfortunately, my day dragged on like a snail in the sun and it felt like forever before I was tired enough to go back to bed; without any sense of time, my body was yelling at me for keeping odd hours. The mountain's air was thick with dirt and dust and I sometimes found myself short of breath; I would have to ask Mr Crepsley if we could take a step outside at some point. For the third time today I managed to get my self lost and it took longer than usual to get back to my room.

I hadn't seen Mr Crepsley all day and he wasn't in our rooms when I arrived back either; logic was telling me that everything was okay, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't. The room didn't look any different to what it did when I left, but I guess I hadn't checked what it looked like when I did leave. Nothing seemed to be damaged so that meant that no one had, for some strange reason, kidnapped Larten from our room or robbed us. Stepping up to the coffin I noticed a small note neatly folded on top of it; not knowing what to do, I opened it.

"Dear Darrien,

Larten told me to inform you that he is in the Hall of Princes discussing Mr Tiny's message; the fat man has stirred up a lot of problems with that sentence. He also said not to worry about anything and that he will hopefully be back later on, so don't wait up for him. You weren't here when I came to deliver this information so I left you a note; Larten's illiterate and couldn't leave his own note. I want you to tease him about this when you get the chance, because I sure did and the look on his face was priceless.

From Artem.

P.S

I saw you training with Arra today, I was surprised she even agreed; I've been asking her for years. If you want to learn how to use a broad sword I am told that I am the man to see, so feel free to seek me out."

After reading the note aloud I felt a weight being lifted off my chest; Larten was okay and not only that, Artem had offered to train me. At least now I would have something to do in this boring, old mountain that wasn't just sitting around doing nothing; which was getting kind of old itself. I put the piece of paper down a just stood in front of the slightly larger than normal coffin and I let my thoughts unleash themselves.

I thought about my life before I was turned into a half-vampire; all my friends, loving family and even a hint of what career I was going to choose. My favorite memory was when I pushed my sister's face into her birthday cake just after she had blown out the candles. I remembered her chasing me around the house until I let her catch me and smear cake across my cheek.

Then after replaying many memories I came to the one that changed my life: the night Steve had convinced me to go to the Cirque Du Freak. On paper the whole plan seemed flawless; I'd say I was going to Steve's for the night and he would say that he was staying at mine, but instead we'd both sneak off to see a freak show. Fool proof.

Unfortunately, for both me and Steve, the night didn't go as flawlessly as we had hoped. The second Mr Crepsley appeared on stage I knew something was wrong and when I turned to look at Steve I thought he was just frightened; I mean at first glance Crepsley is quite the sight. As the night went on I noticed that it wasn't fright that had unsettled Steve so badly; it was Larten Crepsley himself.

When the show was over Steve said he'd meet me tomorrow at school, but instead of leaving like I planned on doing, curiosity got the better of me and I hid in the shadows to watch what Steve had to do. I remembered Steve yelling at Mr Crepsley saying that he knew who he was and he would blackmail him unless Crepsley turned him into a vampire. I was confused and angered; my best friend and he didn't even share this amazing information with me; we could have both blackmailed him for a large sum of money.

My memory skips to after Steve was bitten by Madam Octa; Crepsley's performing spider, to the point where I'm in the abandoned theatre. I was cold and scared out of my mind, all I knew was that I had stuffed up big time and I was ready to do anything to save Steve. When I was telling Crepsley about how Octa had bitten Steve he had laughed and said that she had done the world a favor, after that moment I hated Crepsley with a fiery passion that flared with every word he spoke.

He tried walking off, but I wouldn't let him; I had to get him to give Steve the antidote. Crepsley voiced his amazement that someone would dare steal from him and then ask for help; I could see the problem in my plan. I told him who Steve mean the world to me and that it was my fault not his that all of this had happened and Crepsley paused for a moment. My eyes lit up, but then he shook his head and said no again.

I had begged him to take me instead of Steve, that I would do anything as long as my best friend was safe and I regretted it as soon as the words were spoken. A flash crossed the vampire's eyes and I was sure that I was dead or worse, but instead of pinning me down and having his way with me; Larten Crepsley made an offer that I couldn't refuse. Mostly because it was the only thing he had suggested apart from letting Steve die.

So with a heavy heart I agreed to his terms and became a creature, no, a monster of the night. My memory quickly jumped from one scene to the next; it was like someone had made a memory montage of every moment up until now. I opened my eyes which at some point had shut and let them readjust to the change in light. Once my mind had stopped spinning a voice in the back of my head asked a question:

What if I had let Steve die and told Crepsley to look else where? Would I be able to leave the vampire world? What would my life be like now?

I'd be in my final year of school, hanging out with my friends and family… I'd be bored out on my mind. I'd have a normal life with normal problems and normal people. It wouldn't be that bad to just go back to that point in time, knowing what I know now and make the other decision that at the time wasn't an option. But would I really give up my life at make a new one? I've done it once before, but I don't think I'd have the strength to do it again; not now.

Sighing at my unusually deep thoughts I turned to leave to find Larten Crepsley watching me; his orange crop of hair was a mess and his face was slightly tinged red from stress. His brow was furrowed, his lips were pressed together tightly and he seemed tense.

"How was your day?" I asked cautiously, hoping not to anger him further.

"I did not have a pleasant day and although I must, I wish I did not have to do it again." He tried to sound happy, but it just sounded forced.

"You're here now with me and that's all that matters." I stood on my tiptoes and pecked him on the lips, but as I went to pull away he stopped me.

To my surprise Larten deepened the kiss and his body relaxed, "I missed you today."

"I missed you too." I said with a raised eyebrow, "Are you okay?"

"I am now," With this he smiled. Larten Crepsley, lord of no emotion smiled… at me.

"You're weird, but that's why I love you." Although his action was a shock, it was a pleasant shock.

I was unable to say anymore as Crepsley's lips crashed into mine and the only sound that escaped my mouth was a muffled moan. My hands snaked their way up into his greasy, sweaty strands of orange hair; on any other occasion I would have complained about the feel, but at the moment I didn't care. With this my question was answered: no, I would not be able to leave the vampire world, not now that I know that such an amazing person existed.

A week had passed and I had forgotten about Artem's offer to train so when I saw him putting away his sword I spoke with him about broad sword lessons: he said he would have to work around his other duties, but he would contact me when he was free next. This meant that I was training with Arra again and although I found her very learned in the short sword, I would have loved to have seen Artem's abilities. Living with over three hundred males I had experienced my fair share of awkward moments, but nothing compared to walking in on the only other female vampire in the mountain and one of the previously mentioned males.

Thank god they were so caught up in what they were doing that I didn't think they heard me gasp and run in the opposite direction; although I didn't believe it for a second. In a split second my plans for the day had changed and I now had nothing to do except take a shower and try and wash my eyes until I forgot what I had seen.

I finally got to the waterfall with a towel and a change of clothes; I know that no amount of soap could erase my memory, but it didn't mean I couldn't try. Stepping into the shower, if you could call it that, I froze nearly instantaneously from the blast of freezing cold water. Clenching my fists I began to wash; no matter how many times I had showered in the waterfall, it didn't seem to be physically possible to adjust or get used to the below zero temperature of the water.

As I was washing I heard voices getting closer and even though my lips were turning blue I decided to stay and try and listen in on the conversation. Not surprisingly the voices were both male, but what was surprising was the conversation; both were in deep discussion about the message that had brought Mr Crepsley and I to the mountain in the first place.

"… And even now there are generals out looking for him."

"How will they know which one's the right one?" The vampire with the deeper voice asked; his words echoing through the waterfall.

"I would say that they start with the vampaneze who's surrounded by guards, but it doesn't mean we can't kill anyone who gets in our way." The other laughed.

"If we kill just one of them it means war, do you really wish that upon the clan?"

"We're already at war, the vampaneze are coming; I can feel it."

"You can feel it?" He laughed, "Maybe you need some blood."

"I'm fine, just you wait; many will perish in the near future and it's because of that girl."

"Darrien Shan? What could she possibly have to do with all of this?"

"Why else would Mr Tiny send her and Larten to deliver the message?"

I was frozen through fear and below zero water rushing over my body.

"You're rambling."

"He chose them because the Vampaneze Lord is connected to them somehow."

"I have met Darrien Shan myself and that girl couldn't possibly have any connection to the Vampaneze Lord and if there was a connection it would be a coincidence." At this the vampire stormed out of the area followed by his friend who was shouting at him.

I didn't have time to think about the conversation that I had just witnessed because I had just realized that I was unable to move; I was frozen in place. Vampires could withstand extreme temperatures… but I was only a half vampire and I hadn't been trained to withstand freezing cold whether. My eyes went wide; what was I going to do?

The water continued to fall over my body; each one a dagger as it touched my skin. My mind was racing and my eyes were darting around; I caught glimpses of my flesh through the water and I could tell that I was slowly turning into the first vampire popsicle. It was only when I lifted my hand to wipe my eyes did I realize how much effort and pain it took just to move the slightest bit, but as painful as it was it was possible.

Mustering every bit of unfrozen strength I had, I began to heave my way through the gallons of water pushing down on my body. I was just at the edge of the waterfall when I remembered the ledge of rock that you had to climb over to get into the actual water and although it was going to take everything I had I leaped over it. My plan worked; I got out of the waterfall, but I was so cold that I was unable to put my arms up to break my fall, so instead I let myself slam into the stone floor.

Pain riddled my entire body as the stone scraped off skin and drew blood; I had pins and needles all over and my head hurt from the temperature change. I couldn't move, not that I planned to, but then I remembered that I was lying naked on the floor in a mountain full of males and I started to drag myself to the wall. It seemed that no matter how much I tried I couldn't move as fast as I wanted to and I could hear that guy from before coming back.

I started to panic again as his voice got louder and I was in plain slight in the middle of the room. Naked. I thought about yelling out a warning to him, but I didn't know what kind of vampire this man was and he had already expressed a dislike for me.

"What am I gonna do?" I asked myself, but the only answer I could think of was 'run' and that was physically impossible.

The man's voice was now clear over the waterfall, but I wasn't thinking about what he was saying; I was thinking about what to do. I tried moving faster, but the cold had penetrated my muscles and every little movement caused agony; it was a loosing battle.

"What do we have here?" His voice sent shivers down my spine; more than the waterfall ever could.

"Please help me," I begged, "I can't move."

His laugh echoed over the roar of the waterfall behind him, "Why would I help you?"

My eyebrows furrowed with confusion; was I actually supposed to answer that? He's meant to help me because I'm in peril.

"You're the meddlin' little bitch who's going to throw our whole world into war and you think I'm going to just help you?" He laughed again, "Well, you are sadly mistaken."

Suddenly, a bare foot was getting to know my head. My vision blurred and I fought to keep consciousness; I watched as I was dragged behind the waterfall, back to where no one, not even a vampire could hear you scream. There was the sound of a zip being pulled down and I felt my body being moved into position.

I started to scream with every bit of energy I had left, but deep down I knew that no one could hear me. Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and blocked out the vile things that were happening with memories of my past. I felt my stomach churn as he entered me and I didn't try and hide my disgust or gagging as vomit threatened to spill. His movements were hard and they pained my frozen body.

"Please stop," I whispered over and over, but all I received was laughter and grunts.

Without warning, the weight above me was gone and there was a sickening cracking sound. Although I didn't want to, I opened my eyes to see the monster unconscious against the wall and a blanket being wrapped around me. I didn't fight this person; they felt like the good guy; that and I didn't have the energy.

My mind began to do things on autopilot; I felt empty, a shell filled with horrible things. Today hadn't been that good. I notice my surroundings change as I enter my room, Crepsley's there and he looks angry. I wonder what's upset him so badly. I hear people talking, but they're just sounds in the distance; noises in a far off land. I know that something's wrong because I see Larten walk up to me and inspect me before asking if I'm okay; I don't hear him, but I see his lips move.

Instead of answering I decided to focus on a crack in the roof; I feel a strong connection with it, like we're the same. Broken. No one would notice the crack unless you pointed it out, it would just be there. With enough traumas the crack would grow and become more obvious; people would start to question if it should be fixed, but others would reassure that everything was okay. Eventually the crack would cause people to avoid the room, but without attention the crack would continue to grow without anyone knowing and in the end the room would collapse.

I felt like I was collapsing and everyone was here to enjoy the show. Not being one to disappoint an audience, I let myself crumble; letting all the horrible things go and just becoming a shell. My eyes remained open, not that it made much of a difference, I couldn't respond to anyone if I wanted to. I was in my own world; one filled with butterflies, ponies and a never ending rainbow. Although I wasn't responsive, I wasn't asleep and I could hear Larten's voice calling to me, but I couldn't find where it's coming from. After a while I realize that his voice is all around me, not just in one place.

Larten stopped calling for me and begun to speak of other things; he spoke of his trial and how I would miss it if I remained like this. It wasn't my fault I couldn't leave; there isn't a door that says 'exit' and there isn't someone wishing me well and hoping that I return soon. I hear him tell me goodbye and that he will be back after his trial.

"Goodbye Larten." I say, but I think it's in my head because he doesn't hear me.

It's been weeks after the incident in the waterfall, or has it only been hours? I can't tell because I haven't come back from my own little world to check, but I'm pretty sure that at least one day has passed. I'm sitting in a beautiful grass valley looking out at the snowy mountain tops. Suddenly an image flashes in front of me, almost as if there was a glitch in a movie, but as soon as it happened the world around me became brighter and more filled with rabbits and butterflies. I don't take any notice until it happens again only this time there's a laugh that follows; the sickening laughter of a monster. As soon as the image is gone a rainbow appears along with a few horses.

"Something's not right." I mutter as I stand up.

The world around me looks real enough and smells just as good, but there's an underlying horror that I can't put my finger on. Another image, another sound and another series of overly happy thing appear. I watch as the images slowly become more detailed and slowly I begin to recognize the people who they are showing; I know one is me, but I don't look like me, I look terrified. The other person is more demon than human and his laugh makes my feel sick.

As I start to focus on the images in front of me I don't realize that the world around me is changing as well; the horses become creatures with decaying flesh clinging to their bones, the rainbow disappears to be replaces by black clouds. Rabbits turn into feral animals with razor sharp teeth and large claws, the grass around me quickly dies and turns to ash and all the trees loose their leaves and become twisted and evil.

When I finally look up I see what has become of my happy place, my sanctuary; a land of death and horror coated in the blood of innocents. I suddenly realize that this is not a physical place, but a thought, a memory that has manifested in my mind. At first it was trying to protect me, but now it feeds off of my fear and continues to grow.

A man walks up behind me and throws me to the ground, the ash at my feet turns to stone as I tumble to the floor. There's a loud roar of water falling all around me and I become very cold; my stomach clenches as I see my attackers face. Instead of being frozen with fear I let out a scream that shatters the world around me; as I sit bolt upright I continue to scream until Larten comes racing to my side to comfort me. At first I try to push him away, but then I realize who he is and I pull him closer as tears stream from my eyes; I cry so hard it hurts.

I didn't want to leave my happy place, where the reality of what happened was too much to bear; I beg to go back and I curse the man who did this to me. Soon enough my sobs turn to whimpers and I feel myself being rocked back and forth. As soon as I've stopped crying I'm carried away to a room I've only been to once; The Hall of Princes. Inside there are rows of empty seats and in front of them are three thrones in which the Princes sit. I'm bombarded with questions until the eldest Prince raises his hand for silence.

"My dear child, I understand that you must be terribly frightened at the moment, but I need you to answer a few questions for us," He pauses and I nod. "They will be simple 'yes' and 'no' questions; you may elaborate where you see fit, but you must understand that we need the truth no matter what."

I nod again and try to stand; my legs instantly buckle and I hit the floor, but refuse Larten's hand to help me up. Struggling, I realize that I haven't used my legs in a while nor have I drunk any blood, but I soon get to my feet. A few wobbly steps and I'm standing in front of the Princes. I straighten my back and pretend that I'm not in pain.

"Such strength young one," The larger Prince says, "You are a fighter."

Paris nods in agreement before his expression turns serious, "Please state your name, level of blood and your sire."

I must have looked confused for a second to long before Larten nudged me grabbing my attention and whispered, "You are a half-blood sired by me."

"Oh," I turn back, "My name is Darrien Shan and I am a half-blood sired by Larten Crepsley." My voice was a lot stronger than I thought it was going to be.

"Now Miss Shan, were you or were you not violated by a member of our clan" Paris asked with a hint of sadness.

"Yes, I was."

"Did you have any relations with the vampire before the incident?"

"I don't quite understand." I asked; my brain wasn't working properly.

"Did you have sex with him beforehand?" The Vampire Prince with dark clothing asked and Paris pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No." I felt Larten's tension fall away a bit; he mustn't have liked that question much.

"Very well," Paris cast Mika a look before turning back to me, "Did you even know the vampire?"

"No."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes," I pause, "Every haunting second, every scream, every pain filled plead, every detail…"

Paris' face drops; I don't think he thought I was going to elaborate.

"Could you tell us?"

"I could."

"But you're not going to?" Arrow asked.

I could tell that he was a warrior who had lost someone important; it was the look in his eyes that, although it was far from the surface, it was the same look I held when I 'died'.

"Even the toughest warrior's fall in combat, but we never hear of their failures. They are stories that will never be told around a table of friends, but stay with that person and affect how they go into battle the next time." At that moment I felt very poetic and my answer seemed to be accepted by the Princes.

"So you have learned from this?" Paris looked surprised.

"I didn't just learn something," Suddenly I realized that the game had changed "I've gone to the darkest corner of my mind and now I'm back with a vengeance."

"A vengeance Miss Shan?" Paris seemed confused.

"The reason I was targeted was because I'm a girl and a half-blood and to the monster … to everyone I'm weak, but that stops now." I could feel Larten smile, "I am going to prove to everyone in this mountain that I am just as worthy as they are, that I deserve to be here."

"That's quite a statement from one a small as you," Mika smiled darkly, "How do you intend on doing all of this?"

"By completing the trials of course!" Arrow clapped his hands together, "You will shine by completing the age old tradition of Vampirism."

At that moment I knew that I was in trouble, "The trials?"

Paris sighed, "The trials are a series of randomly chosen challenges that all vampires must complete, but they are only done by full vampires."

"Then it will be all the more impressive when she finishes them." Arrow smiles, "I knew there was something about you little one, you're a fighter."

"Do you wish to take part in the trials Miss Shan?" Paris asked.

But before Larten could answer for me I accepted, "If it will prove my strength to the others, then yes."

"Then it's settled, you're first challenge will be chosen in three days time." Arrow beamed down at me and I knew that this was possibly the dumbest thing I've ever agreed to and I've done a lot of stupid things.

But one of the most stupid things I've done is not speak up about or ask questions about 'The Trials'. Once we were dismissed and promised justice I watched Larten turn and look down at me with his eyebrows raised. I had only seen this look twice; the first was when I had confronted him at the Cirque Du Freak about saving Steve's life, the second was just now. It was a look full of shock, worry, anger and complete disbelief.

"What..?"

* * *

**(A/N)**

**I know it's another cliff hanger, but at least this time I'm going to give you a bit of notice...**

**This story is being put on hold for a bit, I will keep writing and adding bits to i, but it could be a while until I updat next.**

**That is unless I get mass amounts of reviews and loving comments that urge me to continue; I couldn't let you guys down, not on purpose. **

**^.^**


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